In an effort to further distance itself from former Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas-based company that bears his name will reportedly rebrand its $2.5 billion under-construction property in Everett, Massachusetts as Encore Boston Harbor.
The name is taken from Wynn Resorts Limited’s Encore-branded gaming facilities it owns in Las Vegas and Macau.
The Associated Press reports via multiple local news agencies, that the renaming was proposed by the company’s new CEO Matt Maddox during a hearing on Friday with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to determine whether the 76-year-old Wynn should still be considered legally tied to the Boston-area casino project.
Amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, which he vehemently denies, in early February Wynn resigned from the company he founded in 2002.
At the Friday hearing, Maddox reportedly told state regulators, ‘‘This company is not about a man. Steve Wynn is not Wynn Resorts.” He said that the company is about the 25,000 employees that help it grow every day.
Maddox reportedly told the Gaming Commission that “Wynn Boston Harbor” banners that once surrounded the casino site in Everett were on Friday being removed and replaced with new banners that donned the “Encore” moniker.
According to the news agency, the name change does not require approval from the state while a decision by the commission regarding whether or not the Wynn name should remain a part of the Boston area project for regulatory purposes, is expected next week.
In attendance at the hearing on Friday in Boston, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, reportedly said that changing the name was the right move considering requests to that effect from sexual assault survivors along with prominent state officials including state Attorney General Maura Healey and Governor Charlie Baker.
Last month the Boston Herald newspaper reported that AG Healey said that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission should request that the company remove Wynn’s name from the coming integrated casino resort. She was quoted at the time by the newspaper as saying, “It’s clear to me, if what’s being alleged is true, that the casino cannot bear Wynn’s name,” Adding, “I’m not convinced the company should have a license at all.”
Regarding the possibility that the Everett property was on the market, in an appearance on CNBC Wednesday Maddox reportedly said, “Boston’s not up for sale. What Boston represents for us is a good growth opportunity.
“I like that market. I found that land. I pursued that deal. I entered the agreement with the host community five years ago. I liked that market then, I like that market now,” said Maddox.
A position that was decidedly different than previous statements made during his first earnings conference call this week with investors when he alluded to a sale, according to Mass Live.
By Friday evening there was already an Encore Boston Harbor Facebook page up with updated pics displaying the new Encore Boston Harbor name.