Palmer Landowner Sues Mohegan Sun
By Paul Tuthill
The owner of land in western Massachusetts where Mohegan Sun once planned a $1 billion casino is suing the Connecticut- based gaming company.
Northeast Realty Associates claims Mohegan Sun broke an exclusivity agreement for a casino project on a 152 acre site in Palmer. The suit accuses Mohegan Sun of abandoning that project for a more lucrative venture in the greater Boston area, before the November 5th referendum where Palmer voters rejected Mohegan Sun’s project by just 93 votes. It is an accusation that was raised previously by Palmer Town Councilor Paul Burns.
"It certainly seems like there was something going on behind the scenes. Whether there was or not you may never be able to prove it."
Mohegan Sun denies it began talks about another Massachusetts casino project prior to the Palmer referendum. Mohegan Sun is now trying to build a casino on property in Revere that is part of the Suffolk Downs race track.
http://wamc.org/post/palmer-landowner-sues-mohegan-sun
Feb 20, 2014, 9:59pm EST Updated: Feb 20, 2014, 11:24pm EST
Jon Chesto
Managing Editor, Print- Boston Business Journal Email | Twitter | Google+ As if the executives at the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority didn’t have enough to worry about.
With days to go before a make-or-break vote in Revere on Mohegan Sun’s casino plan for Suffolk Downs, Mohegan's landlord in Palmer is pursuing a breach-of-contract suit against the casino operator in Hampden Superior Court. The landlord, Northeast Realty Associates LLC, claims that Mohegan Sun violated the terms of its lease by pursuing this plan in Revere after voters in Palmer narrowly rejected a Mohegan Sun casino there.
To make things even more awkward, Mohegan Sun remains the tenant for the 152-acre site by the Mass. Pike in Palmer, under the terms of a 50-year ground lease signed in 2008. And Mohegan Sun just announced that it will hire CBRE/Grossman Retail Advisors LLC to recommend the best way to develop the property.
The timing of the lawsuit isn’t good for Mohegan. I received a copy of it tonight from representatives for Northeast, who said it would be filed on Friday, four days before the casino vote in Revere.
At the same time, this isn’t coming as a surprise. Northeast and its manager Leon Dragone have made it clear they’re not happy with Mohegan’s quick leap to Revere, and that their law firm was weighing a suit.
Northeast's lawsuit focuses on two claims. The first is that Mohegan officials began talks for a Suffolk Downs casino in October — violating an exclusivity agreement in the lease — after it became clear that Caesars Entertainment would be exiting the Suffolk project. The second claim is that in the final weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 vote in Palmer, Mohegan officials didn’t make the full-court press that needed to be done to win the vote: Mohegan, Northeast claims, ignored pleas to spend more money on advertising or put together a comprehensive traffic study to allay voters’ fears of congestion.
Mohegan officials have heard most of this before, and have denied these claims. They issued another brief statement tonight reiterating those denials. They say the Connecticut-based casino operator devoted more than five years and more than $25 million to a casino proposal in Palmer, and that it has been well established that there were no discussions between Mohegan and Revere officials or with Suffolk Downs about a Mohegan-Suffolk venture prior to the Nov. 5 defeat in Palmer.
Aside from Suffolk Downs, Mohegan and Northeast had been working toward a resort casino in Massachusetts longer than any other company. There was a time when this Palmer partnership seemed like the best of bets for a casino. No, there won’t be any such marriage ceremony anymore.
But there still could be an expensive divorce.
Further reading:
With Revere vote looming, bad blood remains between Mohegan Sun and its Palmer landlord
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2014/02/mohegan-suns-suit-from-palmer-landlord.html
Northeast Realty Associates claims Mohegan Sun broke an exclusivity agreement for a casino project on a 152 acre site in Palmer. The suit accuses Mohegan Sun of abandoning that project for a more lucrative venture in the greater Boston area, before the November 5th referendum where Palmer voters rejected Mohegan Sun’s project by just 93 votes. It is an accusation that was raised previously by Palmer Town Councilor Paul Burns.
"It certainly seems like there was something going on behind the scenes. Whether there was or not you may never be able to prove it."
Mohegan Sun denies it began talks about another Massachusetts casino project prior to the Palmer referendum. Mohegan Sun is now trying to build a casino on property in Revere that is part of the Suffolk Downs race track.
http://wamc.org/post/palmer-landowner-sues-mohegan-sun
Feb 20, 2014, 9:59pm EST Updated: Feb 20, 2014, 11:24pm EST
Mohegan's Palmer landlord pursues breach- of-contract suit against casino operator
With days to go before a make-or-break vote in Revere on Mohegan Sun’s casino plan for Suffolk Downs, Mohegan's landlord in Palmer is pursuing a breach-of-contract suit against the casino operator in Hampden Superior Court. The landlord, Northeast Realty Associates LLC, claims that Mohegan Sun violated the terms of its lease by pursuing this plan in Revere after voters in Palmer narrowly rejected a Mohegan Sun casino there.
To make things even more awkward, Mohegan Sun remains the tenant for the 152-acre site by the Mass. Pike in Palmer, under the terms of a 50-year ground lease signed in 2008. And Mohegan Sun just announced that it will hire CBRE/Grossman Retail Advisors LLC to recommend the best way to develop the property.
The timing of the lawsuit isn’t good for Mohegan. I received a copy of it tonight from representatives for Northeast, who said it would be filed on Friday, four days before the casino vote in Revere.
At the same time, this isn’t coming as a surprise. Northeast and its manager Leon Dragone have made it clear they’re not happy with Mohegan’s quick leap to Revere, and that their law firm was weighing a suit.
Northeast's lawsuit focuses on two claims. The first is that Mohegan officials began talks for a Suffolk Downs casino in October — violating an exclusivity agreement in the lease — after it became clear that Caesars Entertainment would be exiting the Suffolk project. The second claim is that in the final weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 vote in Palmer, Mohegan officials didn’t make the full-court press that needed to be done to win the vote: Mohegan, Northeast claims, ignored pleas to spend more money on advertising or put together a comprehensive traffic study to allay voters’ fears of congestion.
Mohegan officials have heard most of this before, and have denied these claims. They issued another brief statement tonight reiterating those denials. They say the Connecticut-based casino operator devoted more than five years and more than $25 million to a casino proposal in Palmer, and that it has been well established that there were no discussions between Mohegan and Revere officials or with Suffolk Downs about a Mohegan-Suffolk venture prior to the Nov. 5 defeat in Palmer.
Aside from Suffolk Downs, Mohegan and Northeast had been working toward a resort casino in Massachusetts longer than any other company. There was a time when this Palmer partnership seemed like the best of bets for a casino. No, there won’t be any such marriage ceremony anymore.
But there still could be an expensive divorce.
Further reading:
With Revere vote looming, bad blood remains between Mohegan Sun and its Palmer landlord
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2014/02/mohegan-suns-suit-from-palmer-landlord.html
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment