In a stunning development, Robert Kraft and Steve Wynn, vying with Suffolk Downs for a casino license, have pulled out of the competition following the town wide vote taken in Foxboro Monday.
In Monday’s election, Foxboro, voters elected two candidates to the town’s Board of Selectmen who did not favor considering casino development, bringing the total to four out of five selectmen opposed to the casino project.
The news that Kraft and Wynn pulled out electrified casino proponents in East Boston and Revere.
Both Kraft and Wynn commented separately on the matter saying that the people of Foxboro had spoken and they would abide and respect the decision of the townspeople.
The outcome of the vote in Foxboro was considered a big victory for the Suffolk Downs forces.
However news that Kraft and Wynn have pulled out of the competition is a more extraordinary conclusion to the voting saga than was expected.
“This isn’t a time to gloat,” said Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo. “We will all continue to work carefully to make sure a casino at Suffolk Downs is exactly what it should be when all is said and done. We welcome a casino and we believe it will be of benefit to Revere and to Boston,” he added.
The Foxboro vote was a landslide for the winners.
In one of the mostly closely scrutinized small town elections in recent Massachusetts history, the two candidates who spoke out against siting a casino in Foxboro won easily by wide margins and took two seats on the town’s governing board.
Incumbent Selectman Lorraine Brue and newcomer Ginny Coppola were elected over incumbents Larry Harrington and School Committee member Martha Slattery. Both Brue and Coppola bested their opponents by more than 1000 votes.
Nearly 60% of the voters in Foxboro turned out for the election, which many locals considered a referendum on casino gambling in that town.
Their respective statements conceding to the wishes of the people of Foxboro has apparently ended their quest for a casino license in Foxboro.