This is a new day. Wednesday in South Boston, before a health walk for local senior citizens, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh tried to put months of tension with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission behind him.
"Obviously everyone knows the history of what happened," Walsh said. "Now there’s an opportunity here to take this and start fresh, because this is the next step."
Walsh has been a harsh critic of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Over the past few months, the Walsh administration questioned the Gaming Commission’s legal authority, demanded that Gaming Commission chair Steve Crosby recuse himself, and accused the commission of “improperly manipulating the gaming license process.” But now that Everett has hit the casino jackpot, Walsh’ tone has changed — radically.
Since Walsh previously accused the Commission of bias in favor of Everett and developer Steve Wynn — it’s been widely assumed that he favored a competing proposal from Suffolk Downs. But Wednesday the mayor played down his apparent preference.
So would Suffolk Downs have been a better place for a casino?
"Again, the Gaming Commission made its decision, so I’m going to leave it there," he said.
Walsh insisted he that he bears Wynn — who’s one of the world’s foremost casino developers — no animosity at all.
"I mean, I’ve never met the man," he said. "I know there was some feeling there was some bad blood from the past administration. I don’t know that’s carried over to this administration. Certainly, I have no ill will toward anyone. My concern has always been make sure people of Charlestown and East Boston are taken care of and protected."
Since Walsh’s goal now is to get the best possible concessions from Wynn, his new, softer tone is probably a smart move. For what it’s worth, Wynn’s team seems ready for a fresh start, too.
"We've always been ready, willing and able," said Robert DeSalvio, the senior vice president for development at Wynn Resorts. "We had actually excellent discussions along the way. So we're ready, willing, and able to meet. We believe the mayor's team is as well and we look forward to very fruitful and productive meetings upon his return [from Ireland]. We just want to get it started and we believe the city wants to as well."
But Walsh — who’s traveling to Ireland Thursday — didn’t rule out the possibility of litigation if the new era of good feeling doesn’t last.
"Nothing’s off the table," he said. "I’m keeping everything on the table."
Until that changes, calling Steve Wynn’s Everett casino a done deal would probably be premature.
