Council to Discuss Revere-only Casino on Tuesday

Council President Peter Gill said the Council will discuss the Mohegan Sun resort/casino project at Suffolk Downs at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall.

“The matter is on the agenda,” said Gill when asked if Council members would be addressing the topic.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) voted Tuesday to allow Revere to hold a second referendum vote on the casino that would be built on the Revere portion of the Suffolk Downs property. Revere voters previously approved a referendum on Nov. 5 while East Boston voted against the casino/resort project.

At the last Council meeting on Dec. 3, the Council, with some casino opponents in the audience, debated the issue. One of the Council’s options was to ask Town Manager James McKenna to write a letter to the MGC expressing Winthrop’s concerns about the new proposal.

But Councilor Nicholas DelVento requested postponement of any action until the next meeting, which is allowed under the town charter for an item that does not appear on the agenda.

“We’ll discuss the options that were discussed at the Dec. 3 meeting,” said Gill. “While more is known about the casino project than before, there are still some things that are unknown because we do not have their plan. It was Suffolk Downs before but from what I understand, Suffolk Downs is now just the landlord and Mohegan Sun is the applicant.”

McKenna said the town’s legal team is continuing its negotiations with Suffolk Downs/Mohegan Sun officials for a financial compensation package for the town in relation to the impacts a casino at Suffolk Downs would have on Winthrop.