Decision soon on Boston-area casino for Sun

It could take as many as eight more business days for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to award a casino license for the Greater Boston area, considered the last major untapped gaming market in the Northeast.

At the end of the process, which could now extend as late as Sept. 17, the commission is expected to bestow the license on either Mohegan Sun, which has proposed a $1.3 billion project in Revere, or Wynn Resorts, for a $1.6 billion project in Everett.

The commission plans to deliberate Monday through Friday next week and the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, if necessary. Citing its commitment to transparency, the commission announced this week that all of its deliberations as well as the results of its months-long review of the Mohegan Sun and Wynn applications will be made public.

The upcoming meetings will be live-streamed at MassGaming.com.

“This is the culmination of an exhaustive competitive process … ,” James McHugh, one of the four commission members involved in the deliberations, said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing our findings with the public and are pleased to progress to this major milestone as we focus on implementing the expanded gaming legislation in a way that is most appropriate for the residents of the region.”

The Mohegan Sun and Wynn applications will be evaluated on five key criteria: overview of the project; finance; economic development; building and site design; and mitigation of adverse impacts.

Earlier this year, the commission awarded a casino license for the western Massachusetts region to MGM Resorts International, which expects to build an $800 million project in Springfield, and a slots parlor license to Penn National Gaming, which has begun construction of a facility in Plainville.

Nevertheless, all of Massachusetts’ gaming projects are subject to the outcome of a November referendum in which voters will be asked whether the state’s 2011 expanded-gambling law should be repealed.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com
Twitter: @bjhallenbeck

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