Casino applicants wary about trade secrets

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Casino applicants wary about trade secrets

Lawyers for the state Gaming Commission are poring over a slew of casino application filings marked “confidential” to judge the merits of developers’ claims that they include critical trade secrets — but City Hall suspects they may be overreaching.

In petitions to the commission, the city of Boston — which is studying if it can argue it is a host community to casinos in either Everett or Revere — says sections of a Wynn Resorts application for an Everett casino “exclude information which has been provided to the commission, certain elements of which are relevant to the city’s review.” Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he’s particularly concerned with 77 pages he said are under seal in the Wynn application Boston received.

“There’s a lot of questions I have about that proposal,” Walsh said. “Wynn having 77 pages missing is alarming.”

Gaming Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said of the legal review: “The commission will continue to make every effort to ensure a transparent process while also balancing our statutory obligations to certain privacy rights and competitively sensitive information.” She said the commission will either allow filings to remain confidential or release them.

The casino application form includes a list of 47 filings the Gaming Commission presumes applicants will consider confidential, such as audited financial statements. Applicants can check a box to agree or disagree, and request that even more answers be hidden. Wynn requested an additional 38 filings be withheld, including how its Everett casino will fit the “Massachusetts brand,” plans to work with minority- and female-owned businesses, and how staff will be trained to identify signs of gambling addiction.

Company spokesman Michael Weaver said Wynn, a publicly traded company, is obligated to protect “sensitive financial and strategic company information.”

“The documents available to the general public are consistent with the type of information made available by a company, for example, to individuals considering investing in the company,” Weaver said. “We believe there is ample information to enable the public to understand the scope and impact of the proposed project and the clear difference between Wynn and Mohegan Sun.”

Mohegan Sun, which is proposing a casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere, only asks that two additional filings be confidential, items referred to in the application as “Land” and “Site Plan.” A spokesman said the items are attachments to a confidential lease agreement. Mohegan filed several site plans that are public.

“Mohegan Sun believes openness is important in the licensing process, and our application allows not only the Gaming Commission but our host community, surrounding communities and the public to examine and understand our proposal,” the company said in a statement.

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