Reaching a decision “in principle,” Massachusetts gaming regulators have ruled that Boston is a “surrounding community” as regards casino projects proposed in the Greater Boston cities of Revere and Everett, meaning those projects will not face referendum votes in Boston neighborhoods.
A “host community” designation for Boston would have required referendums in East Boston and Charlestown, where voters likely would have rejected the casino projects.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s ruling, which the panel said it will formalize next week, favors Mohegan Sun, which has proposed a $1.3 billion project in Revere, and Wynn Resorts, which would develop a $1.6 billion project in Everett.
The four seated members of the commission voted unanimously. Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby recused himself from the matter after he was criticized for attending a private Kentucky Derby viewing party Saturday at the Suffolk Downs horse racing track, which straddles the Revere-East Boston line and whose owner, Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, owns the casino site Mohegan Sun seeks to develop.