Construction is finally set to start out on Wynn Boston Harbor, a $2.1 billion casino resort with a view to sit along the Mystic River within the neighboring town of Everett.

After challenges from town of Boston were settled earlier this year, Wynn Resorts still needed to care for opposition from the nearby city of Somerville, which was seeking to block the casino from getting another necessary environmental permit.

According to The Boston Globe, the state Department of Environmental Protection on Friday gave the approval to Wynn Boston Harbor, which was the last remaining hurdle for the project that was within the works for the past several years. The state legislature legalized Las Vegas-style casinos in 2011.

Somerville can file an appeal, but Wynn plans on beginning construction meanwhile. The casino is predicted to open in early 2019.

“We can now go full steam ahead with the Wynn casino project,” Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria told The Globe. “This change will hugely add to the standard of life for our residents, our neighbors, and the tourists to be able to soon be visiting our city.”

After the verdict by the state agency, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a press release that he wasn’t looking to block the casino outright: “This particular appeal was never about stopping the casino but rather about exercising the city’s statutory rights of attract ensure our city’s environmental, health, and waterways concerns were addressed."

The casino was originally scheduled to open in 2018, however the challenge from Somerville delayed the plans. Steve Wynn was never worried about Somerville, saying previously that “we don’t rate this as a terrible threat or a massive obstacle.”

Previously Wynn Everett, the casino operator announced the name change in March, in addition to upping the investment from $1.7 billion to $2.1 billion.

Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]