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Courtesy of Wynn Resorts
A rendering of the proposed Wynn casino in Philadelphia that Wynn Resorts submitted to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on April 6, 2010
Published Thursday, April 8, 2010 | 1:55 p.m.
Updated Thursday, April 8, 2010 | 4:52 p.m.
Sun Archives
Wynn Resorts announced today it is pulling out of negotiations and agreements to develop and operate the Foxwoods Casino project in Philadelphia.
"We are fascinated by the legalization of full gaming in Pennsylvania and stimulated by the opportunity that it presents for Wynn Resorts, but this particular project did not, in the end, present an opportunity that was appropriate for our company," Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn said in a statement.
The Las Vegas-based casino operator announced in February that it had reached a partnership and management agreement for the casino on the Philadelphia waterfront. Under the proposed agreement, Wynn would have taken a 51 percent stake in the project, while a partnership including the Connecticut Indian tribe that owns Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., and three local investors, Lewis Katz, Ron Rubin and Ed Snider, would have smaller shares.
Wynn detailed plans for the $600 million project in his fourth quarter earnings conference call last month, saying the the casino would include 3,000 slot machines, table games and several dining options. Plans didn't call for the casino to include a hotel, Wynn said.
Pennsylvania lawmakers legalized table games in January, which Wynn has said would help it attract gamblers from farther away and compete with casinos nearby states.
On Monday, Wynn met with the Philadelphia Gaming Control Board and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter to present plans and full-color illustrations of the proposed casino.
"I'm in a state of shock," Stephen A. Cozen, a lawyer for the original Foxwoods investors told The Philadelphia Inquirer Thursday in a report on its Web site.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Cozen heard the news at the same time as the public. "We're trying to find out what the reasons are for this and determine what, if anything, can be done about it. That's the only comment I can make."
A spokeswomen for Wynn Resorts said the company had no further comment on the agreement termination. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board closed at 5 p.m. Eastern time, minutes after Wynn Resorts made the announcement, and wasn't available for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Maybe Mr. Wynn listened to some of the posters on here, who anguished the thought that Nevada's low gaming taxes were helping him subsidize more out-of-state operations.
I lived in southeastern PA for 22 years. There is a HUGH market there for the gaming industry. My friends & I would always go to Charlestown, WV to enjoy the casino there. The trip took less than an hour, and so long as you never saw the film deliverance you enjoyed the scenic ride. Anyways, we always wondered when PA would come-around and realize all the money that's leaving the state and going right across the border to either New Jersey or West Virginia.
Oops. Correction.."less than an hour"
I meant: "less than several hours".
Time for more caffeine I suppose
Maybe Wynn pulled out of Pennsylvania deal to use those funds and time/energy to buy the Ritz Carlton/Casino and Golf Courses in Lake Las Vegas.
"Maybe Mr. Wynn listened to some of the posters on here"
haha...
ya, i'm sure he makes all his business decisions on what a bunch of obama lovers that have never run so much as a lemonade stand think.
It would be interesting to know why. Wynn seemed enthusiastic about the project, and suddenly pulls out...
One reason he pulled out may have to do with some of the prickly relations he's had with the PA politicians and the PA press. He may have decided it wasn't worth the aggravation.
Didn't he submit artists' renderings of his plans three weeks ahead of schedule?
burnemandturnem :
I'm with you on this. He's been getting a lot of heat from those forces, and at this time his casinos in Vegas are losing more and more money. He's gonna lay low for awhile for sure..
DavidM64:
Great idea.... HE SHOULD WITHDRAW TO HELP SAVE LAKE LAS VEGAS!!!
WE NEED INNOVATIVE SKILLED PEOPLE TO SAVE COLLAPSING PLACES!!!
DONT FORGET MY IDEAS FOR THE "NEW" Lake Las Vegas:
1. BUILD AN EXCITING PLAZA FOR OUTDOOR EVENTS. LLV can come to life culturally and socially..
2. MAKE THE PLACE MORE THAN JUST RESORTS... Create mixed-use, retail, condos, and offices... The place NEEDS MORE to survive....
3.MAKE SURE THE LAYOUT WORKS.... The flow of traffic works, buildings and sites stand out, and parking lots and empty streets dont become the center of the attention...
NEW LAKE LAS VEGAS HERE COME!! LETS GO BANANZAS OVER IDEAS AND REACH FOR THE STARS!! OH YEAH!!
Yeah, I'm sure Steve "listened to the posters on here."
You need to come to the world of reality.
Philly is mobbed up. Too many palms to grease there.
Sign of the times.Pinnacle pulled out of its proposed AC project along with Morgan Stanley who announced plans to sell its stake in the half finished Revel hotel last week.Things are tough all over.
It would be interesting to know why. Wynn seemed enthusiastic about the project, and suddenly pulls out...
been there ;)
I think Mr. Weinburg simply realized that the gaming taxes in Pa. were too regressive to allow a full scale casino complex. Bravo to him. Elaine must be proud.
Dam... I was really hoping for this one in my hometown...
Too many Obama lovers in PA for steve.
The LV Sun needs to block plzzshop09 from his advertising on this comment site.This is the second time today I have seen this.What a Flea to cheap to advertise legitimately.As far as Mr.Wynn pulling out of Pa.smart move and he obviously saw something that was going to lead to a mistake.
Only the higher ups in Mr Wynn's domain know whats up right now and it will eventually be revealed.
Do not be suprised to see him doing something else here in Vegas to help stimulte the economy now and setting up his properties for ready to go when the economy returns.Trust me he is working on something.
Now he can apply to run one of two Ohio Casinos Cav's owner Gilbert has the rights to. He wants a operator for both. The Tax rate in Pa. was 54%,,,,,, in Ohio its only 33%
Sounds to me like something came up out of nowhere that will require lots of dough. Something like the IRS, a lawsuit settlement, a payoff in Macau - or news that someone involved in the PA side of the deal is about to get into hot water or maybe run for offfice. You don't have tons of lawyers and analysts do their due diligence for something like the PA deal, give it the thumbs up and then just pull out. No - this rings of something else totally unrelated with the biz decision to have done this in the first place.
Hmmmm. Very interesting. burnemandturnem had a good point. The press was all over this and not in a good way. There has been significant neighborhood opposition.
Check this out: http://vimeo.com/9939244
Hysterical. I felt bad for the reporter, but I love Steve!
The REAL reason that Steve has backed out is that he....
CAN'T GET "BIG' GARTH BROOKS at a discount rate.
I'm pretty sure it turns out to be a losing proposition in the long run, knowing the "not appropriate for our company" quote probably meant :
1- The company has to pay in full for the entire surrounding area of roadway and traffic revisions ....
2- The Pennsylvania Gaming Board will not allow any establishment to skim out employee or staff tips/gratuities and place them into a 'tip revenue sharing pool' ....
3- There's a lot of counterfeit $100 bills floating around as no one wants to deal with $100 bills right now....A group figured a way to bleach out $5 bills and reprint a front and back facing of a $100 bill on it...
The ironic way the group got caught was by an anonymous tip, and the Sands casino in Bethlehem had footage of one of the group members buying many $5 bills from the cage.
By American_Gaming_Guru - Great link/ video