FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Plans to bring a $1 billion resort-style casino to the brand new England Patriots’ hometown were suspended, Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn and the team’s owner said Tuesday.
The announcement by The Kraft Group and Wynn Resorts came an afternoon after Foxborough voters elected two selectmen who opposed opening negotiations with Wynn. He had planned to construct the resort on land leased from Patriots owner Robert Kraft across from Gillette Stadium, the team’s home field.
Under a state law that legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts, developers must first negotiate an agreement with town or town wherein they hope to construct a casino.
“With Monday’s election, we believe the citizens of Foxborough have spoken,” The Kraft Group said in a press release. “As we originally committed, we’ve heard them and respect their collective voice.”
A spokesman does not say whether which means the proposal might arise again.
Stephanie Crimmins, who founded the gang No Foxboro Casino in December, said members of the grassroots organization are “just absolutely thrilled” by the scoop.
“Yesterday’s election was pretty telling and we were hopeful that this can happen, but none people expected this to happen as quickly because it did,” she said.
The proposal’s suspension could bolster a suggestion for a resort casino at Suffolk Downs horse racing track in Boston, which might have needed to compete with the Foxborough proposal for the only real casino license which will be available in eastern Massachusetts.
A statement from the pony track’s chief operating officer, Chip Tuttle, said that their approach wouldn’t change.
Tuttle said Suffolk Downs would work to earn a casino license “in accordance with the merits of our development proposal to create a worldwide-class destination in a worldwide-class city.”
He said they might think about working with East Boston and Revere residents to be certain their proposal provided jobs, road improvements and tourism growth.
