When the mayor bartered with the predators at Wynn Resorts about the particulars of the host agreement that governs payments that Encore to the city, he was clearly out of his water.
We know this today because MGM promised to pay the city of Springfield $26 million a year with in lieu of tax payments for MGM’s $960 million investment in downtown Springfield which compares unfavorably with Everett getting $30 million a year for Wynn Resorts $2.6 billion in- vestment.
The mayor, it is obvious, had no idea what he was doing at the time, negotiating for less than he should have settled for, a situation now coming back to haunt the city of Everett.
In Springfield, as we report in this week’s edition, MGM is asking the city for better terms of payment following the closure of the casino complex since March.
MGM’s thinking is that business wasn’t that great before the pandemic closed the place and won’t be that great after reopening again this week.
Sound familiar?
It ought to.
MGM owes Springfield some money as well. What a surprise.
Everett is owed more than $13 million by Encore/Wynn Resorts.
We expect they will pay but there are no guarantees and the situation with the host agreement in Springfield being challenged proves this hypothesis.
It is only a matter of time before Encore wants a better deal and more time to pay what it owes.
This is business 101 even in the big leagues.
There are no provisions in the city’s host agreement for such contingencies.
Maybe the mayor could have our city solicitor repossess the property if Encore doesn’t pay or fails to pay everything or pays chronically late.
What’s the chances of that?
Zero.
The closure of the casino was as dangerous and unsatisfying to the owners as the reopening with 1/3 capacity allowed inside and not many takers to start with.
The road back will be long and difficult, strewn with speed bumps and regulations of every kind.
In the long term, maybe everything works out.
In the short term, Everett will have its hand out.
It is not a good place for the city to be.
The mayor should have known better, but he was starstruck by Steve Wynn.
He remains starstruck by Steve Wynn but now he must contend with Matt Maddox who wants nothing whatsoever to do with the mayor.
What a situation.