The head of Mohegan Sun, competing with Vegas magnate Steve Wynn for the sole Greater Boston casino license, told the Herald he thinks the state’s gaming law is just fine — showing a sharp distinction from Wynn’s view that the Bay State’s gaming law needs changes before it is conducive to successful casinos.
“I think everybody who got into this process had the opportunity to review the law before we began doing anything, and so I don’t know why all of a sudden you would feel that there’s things that you don’t like,” Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess told the Herald. “We went into this eyes wide open, and I think they’ve done a really great job overall with the legislation.”
In remarks to the media Monday, Wynn, in town to help his company pass a screening by the state Gaming Commission, said he’s talking to state officials in an attempt “to get issues resolved that will comfort us,” and said some requirements of the law don’t jibe with the “arithmetic of gaming establishments.” Wynn, who is eyeing a $1.3 billion resort in Everett, declined to be more specific.
The Gaming Commission, which has discussed the merits of the law in meetings and has sway with legislators, appears willing to listen.
“The commission welcomes constructive opinions from participants as it pertains to elements of the statute,” commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said. “The commission would consider opinions and then proceed accordingly.”
State Rep. Wayne Matewsky (D-Everett) said he’s not sure what changes Wynn is seeking, but said it would only be fair for the commission to hear him out after it allowed changes to procedure for Mohegan and Suffolk Downs and permited a second referendum vote in Revere.
“They bent over backward (for Suffolk Downs), as it appears to me,” Matewsky said. “If Mr. Wynn is seeking to have some kind of consultation along the line, they could be fair to us just as they’ve been fair to the other community. Mr. Wynn has worked hard to get this off the ground.”
Etess said tax rates in the law — 25 percent of casino gaming revenues and a 5 percent withholding for all winnings over $600 — are in line with other jurisdictions that recently opened to gaming.
“Are there lower tax rates in the industry? Yes, New Jersey and Nevada,” Etess said. “But if you look at the jurisdictions that have more recently added gaming, the tax rates are higher. This tax rate is right in the middle, to create a nice revenue for the commonwealth and still create the series of operators who want to participate and be able to get enough returns on their investment.”