Boston Seeks Privileged Legal Status in State Casino Projects

Move comes in response to major casino development projects in two neighboring communities.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh asked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to grant the city status as both a host and surrounding community with regards to casino projects in the nearby municipalities of Everett and Revere. According to American gambling laws, nearby communities have certain rights with regards to casino projects.

Essentially, city officials want to gain status as a host community without relinquishing the rights associated with surrounding community status. The towns of Everett and Revere, which both are undergoing new casino projects, are separate municipalities bordering Boston. The new casinos would contain American poker rooms.

Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn has submitted a $1.2 billion plan to build a casino in Everett, which lies so close to Boston that city officials attempted to argue that the proposed site lies partially inside the city limits. They backed off this claim after Wynn showed maps proving that the site lies completely within Everett.

Boston residents have misgivings about building casinos in city’s backyard

As the two sites lie so close to Boston, the two projects are certain to effect traffic and public safety in the city. This has drawn the ire of many citizens, and is part of why officials have attempted to assert Boston’s status as both a host and surrounding community.

While Boston’s status as a surrounding community means Everett and Revere officials must reach agreements with it, its claim as a host community is dubious, because both projects have been proven to lie completely outside its borders.