Unwilling to let go of its casino dreams, the City of Revere is suing the state gambling commission over its rejection of a Revere casino plan, alleging that the commission “abused its discretion” and violated state law by choosing an Everett casino plan by Wynn Resorts as the winner of the Greater Boston casino license last month.
The lawsuit asserts that the commission “acted arbitrarily and capriciously, abused its discretion, violated provisions of the Gaming Act, gave Wynn unequal (and better) treatment than other gaming applicants, and treated other applicants unfairly and inequitably,” according to a statement from Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo’s office.
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The suit asks the court to vacate the decision and order the commission to award the license “in accordance with the Gaming Act,” the city said.
The lawsuit was filed jointly by the City of Revere and Local 103 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. IBEW represents 145 workers at Suffolk Downs, whose jobs will be lost when the 79-year-old track closes later this year.
The state gambling commission in September chose a $1.6 billion casino and hotel proposal by Wynn Resorts as the winner of the Greater Boston resort casino license, the most lucrative license in the state. In choosing Wynn by a 3-1 vote, the commission denied a license to a Revere-based casino plan by Mohegan Sun, planned for Suffolk Downs racetrack.
Wynn dominated the financial and economic comparisons between the proposals, with projections that it would create more jobs and pay higher wages, would spend more on goods and services with local businesses, and would invest more than twice as much in the physical construction of the resort.
Several losers of the long, exhausting licensing battle have not gone quietly.
Mohegan Sun cried foul within hours of Wynn’s victory, blasting the commission’s licensing process as defective and unfair to them.
Suffolk Downs, which stood to gain enormous lease payments from a casino on its land, sent the commission a blistering letter this month questioning whether Wynn’s plan is viable and urging regulators to reconsider their choice.
Revere Mayor Daniel Rizzo has been one of the strongest supporters of casino gambling among public officials. Rizzo quickly struck a compensation deal with Suffolk Downs last year when the track proposed a casino on the East Boston side of the 160-acre racetrack property, which straddles the Boston-Revere city line.
After East Boston residents voted down the plans at a referendum last November, Rizzo immediately urged track ownership to move their proposal entirely to the Revere side of the racetrack’s property.
With Rizzo’s support, the track struck a deal to lease about 40 acres in Revere to Connecticut casino company Mohegan Sun for a casino.
Mark Arsenault can be reached at marsenault@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bostonglobemark