Casino mogul visits Everett to discuss casino

EVERETT, Mass. (WHDH) -- Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn met with Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria to discuss developing a casino in that city on Wednesday.

Wynn is looking for a second chance to make his first impression on Bay State residents considering a casino in their backyard.

Wynn is hoping to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build a destination casino and hotel development on the former site of the Monsanto Plant on the Mystic River in Everett.

“It’s sort of a battle of the house here in Boston, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become something all together more complicated and more interesting to attract people to Everett,” Wynn said Wednesday.

It was only months ago voters in Foxboro gave Wynn a thumbs down on developing a casino there with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Wynn said the industrial nature of the Everett site may make it a better sell than the residential area in Foxboro. Everett’s mayor said the city’s high unemployment rate may make it a better sell, too, especially with young people looking for a good job.

“They’re looking for a career, not just a job -- that can be a difference between Foxboro and Everett, where jobs may be the key component for this development,” said DeMaria.

Wynn already has some competition in the Boston area with casino giant Caesar’s Entertainment partnering with Suffolk Downs to apply for casino rights at the East Boston horse track.

“I don’t think I can have much of an influence on the outcome other than to present our credentials and the kind of project we would build. What else does someone like me do?” said Wynn.

The state’s casino law allows for the construction of up to three casinos, each in a different region of the state.