Mohegan tribe wins court ruling re Wynn’s Boston-area casino

Casino operator Mohegan Sun has been granted permission to pursue its lawsuit against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) over the awarding of the Boston-area casino license.

The Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribe sued the MGC in January 2015, a few months after the MGC awarded the sole Boston-area casino license to Wynn Resorts, spoiling the Mohegans’ plans to open a $1.3b casino at the Suffolk Downs racetrack in Revere. The Mohegans sued based on their belief that the MGC had given Wynn preferential treatment throughout the application process.

On Friday, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the MGC had violated the state’s open meeting law in making its decision. The Court cited MGC records indicating that commissioners met at least twice in private to discuss the Boston casino question, which directly contradicted the MGC’s claims.

The Court noted that violations of the open meeting law allowed for a variety of penalties, including “nullifying the action taken at a meeting,’ as well as potential civil penalties. The Court’s ruling sends the tribe’s lawsuit back to Superior Court for further deliberation.