Massachusetts Volunteer Organization Lobbies Neighbors on Behalf of Wynn Casino
Though the company has enough money to build a $1.2 billion casino just outside of Boston, in the city of Everett, Massachusetts, the Wynn Company is not spending very much of it on traditional advertising to persuade local voters to give the thumbs up to its plans when the matter comes to a public referendum on June 22.
Group of locals is knocking on doors
Instead, Wynn is relying on a group of local Everett citizens to educate their peers about what the famously glamorous company plans to do with a parcel of land in their municipality that once housed something that many find much more unpleasant than a casino property, that being a pollutant-spewing Monsanto chemical plant.
The members of the group, which goes by the name Everett United, spend their time knocking on doors around town to encourage other Everett residents to support Wynn’s plan to build what has been promised to be the most luxurious hotel in the Boston when – and if – completed. In addition to its hotel and casino gaming floors, the Wynn Everett property will feature all the usual trappings one has come to expect from a Wynn property, from world-class dining, entertainment, and spa facilities, right down to the signature bronze glass curtain architectural design.
Wynn hired strategists, local developers, to aid in his pursuit
While the Wynn Company has employed none of the usual tactics that go hand in hand with a major political or land-use pitch such as radio and television ads, they have hired local consultants and developers to assist them in strategizing. The Everett United group is well-funded, and has in large part been recruited by the strategic team on the Wynn payroll.
Michael Weaver, a Wynn spokesman, said of the group, “Wynn Resorts financially supports Everett United and its hundreds of volunteers committed to bringing our development to Everett.”
“They are a dedicated group, and we are grateful for their enthusiasm and support,” Weaver went on.
Opponents unfunded, unsponsored
By contrast, those in Everett who oppose the construction of the Wynn Casino, whose design is based upon that of the incredibly successful Wynn Macau, a property credited with bringing Nevada-style casino gambling to Asia, remain both unorganized and unfunded.
Local resident Evmorphia Stratis, who is against the casino proposal, pointed out that with neither money nor a centralized team, those who don’t wish to see the casino built in Everett are unlikely to get their way.
“It’s pretty intense from the pro side, Everett United,” Stratis said. “There is so much money behind it, and who am I?”
