A court has ruled that Wynn Resorts does not have to pay $19 million as part of an alleged secret land deal. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Not enforceable
Wynn Resorts does not have to pay $19 million as part of a supposed secret land sale. The initially agreed-upon price for the Encore Boston Harbor casino resort site was $75 million before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) capped the deal at $35 million due to concerns about potential undisclosed ties between seller FBT Everett Realty and Charles Lightbody, an individual with alleged ties to crime. the organization.
The goal of the lawsuit was to force the company to pay
Anthony Gattineri owned 49% of FBT and claimed that Wynn Resorts’ then-senior vice president of development, Robert DeSalvio, promised to pay him $19 million in exchange for him agreeing on paper to a $35 million sale. The alleged secret payment would represent his deduction from the $40 million that was deducted from the final purchase price by MGC. Wayne never paid the $19 million; The goal of the lawsuit was to force the company to pay.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ultimately determined that this supposed deal was unenforceable as it was concealed from the MGC and as a result violated public policy because it threatened public confidence in the integrity of the gaming licensing process. The court ruling also stated that FBT misled Gambling Regulatory Authority investigators who were examining links with Lightbody.
Winding road
FBT Everett Realty purchased the industrial wasteland site in 2009 for $8 million before casino gambling became legal in the state. Legislation in 2011 paved the way for the development of large-scale commercial casinos.
Wynn Resorts initially had the option to purchase the land in late 2012 if it was the recipient of one of the three commercial casino licenses available in the state.
An Encore Boston Harbor spokesperson previously said the company would never agree to such a deal without any paperwork or documentation because it is a “publicly traded company in a highly regulated industry.”
Ultimately, MGC set the deal at $35 million because that amount represented the fair value of the site if it were not a casino site. This cap has been classified as “highly unusual” in previous legal proceedings related to this matter.
Charles Lightbody and two other FBT directors were federally indicted in 2014 for allegedly trying to hide his interest in the land by falsifying documents. All of them were acquitted.
Lots of headaches
It has been one headache after another for MGC regarding Encore Boston Harbor. The regulator’s first head, Stephen Crosby, resigned from his position in 2018 after accusations that he showed bias in awarding a Boston-area casino license to Wynn. Rival casino company Mohegan Sun sued the commission over the selection process.
Wynn also got into hot water for allegedly concealing sexual misconduct allegations involving company founder and then-CEO Steve Wynn from MGC. This led to the Las Vegas-based company having to pay a $35 million fine to the regulatory body and almost losing its license.
