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Wynn Resorts Philadelphia Casino Project Called Off

Posted on April 11th, 2010

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Wynn Resorts Ltd., in an unexpected announcement Thursday, declared it is canceling its plans to build a casino in Philadelphia. The Las Vegas-based company’s decision came as a surprise since just a week ago, design and finance requirements for the project were presented by the company to the Philadelphia Gaming Control Board in Pennsylvania which was taken to mean the company was proceeding with the venture. But in a statement Thursday, Wynn Resorts Chairman Stephen A. Wynn said, “This particular project did not, in the end, present an opportunity that was appropriate for our company.”

Wynn’s spokeswoman said the Chief Executive would not elaborate on the reasons for the company’s abrupt exit.

In February, the company signed a letter of intent with the original investors, the Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners, a group of local investors and the Mashantucket Pequot tribe that operates the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, to take over the long-delayed Foxwoods Casino project on South Columbus Boulevard.

The original investors were granted a casino license in 2006, but the Mashantucket tribe that was supposed to develop, finance and manage the facility ran into serious financial difficulties, thus the project was stalled. Its waterfront location was also the cause of a political disagreement as it was opposed by some city officials.

Steve Wynn informed the state regulators in March that as a majority stakeholder his investment in the $600 million project would be around $250 million. Wynn, who is famous for developing huge destination resorts like the Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas, would have built something small, just a casino and without a hotel. He was quoted to have said that the Philadelphia project would be a “straightforward casino” and it would be “the cutest casino you have ever seen.”

In November, Wynn Resorts withdrew a proposal for a racino at the Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York that would have cost $300 million because the company was not satisfied with the way the bidding process was handled by the administration of New York Gov. David Paterson. Atlantic City was probably the most pleased with Wynn’s unanticipated walk out. Many in the gambling city had worried of the impact a casino run by an operator linked with high stakes gambling would have on the declining Atlantic City gambling industry.