Wynn says he'll build 'the cutest casino': But his plans don't include high-rise hotel

Casino mogul Steve Wynn said yesterday that one solution to jump-start the moribund Foxwoods project on the banks of the Delaware River includes dumping plans for a high-rise hotel.

Wynn told stock analysts yesterday that he would instead focus on building "the cutest casino you've ever seen" to appeal to customers in nearby neighborhoods and commuter towns across the river in New Jersey.

Wynn's plans conflict with sworn testimony on Jan. 27 by Fred Jacoby, an attorney for the local investors backing the casino project, to the state Gaming Control Board last month.

Jacoby told the board that a major new investor was in discussions with a local construction manager who will build the casino. The plans, he said twice, included "hotel capacity."

Wynn on Tuesday announced that he was stepping in as the managing general partner for the Philadelphia casino project on 16 acres on Columbus Boulevard at Reed Street, in South Philly.

Jacoby said he would need to compare Wynn's comments with his testimony in order to "respond fairly and responsibly."

Wynn, who will testify Wednesday in a Gaming Control Board hearing, said he was going to build the local casino "real quick" to meet conditions set by the board, which has been frustrated by a long series of delays.

The board last month set a $2,000 per day fine for the project, retroactive to Dec. 1, when the project's investors missed a deadline to produce architectural and engineering plans for the casinos. The fine will reach $186,000 by the time Wynn testifies in Harrisburg next week.

Wynn sought to allay concerns on the conference call with stock analysts that Philadelphia could be a distraction of his time or money for his company.

Wynn said the three-story casino and parking garage he plans would not be a destination resort that requires expensive pampering to lure high-rollers.

"No Gulfstream jets," he said. "No helicopters. No nothing."

Instead, Wynn described a local attraction with a steakhouse, Italian restaurant and Asian noodle house where gamblers can spend a couple of hours.

"All my good old friends, Italians and Jews and every conceivable type of ethnic group that love to shoot craps and gamble," Wynn said, describing his anticipated clientele. "And they're 10 minutes away by car or bus from my casino on the river."

Wynn said that he has been spending eight or nine hours a day for the last several weeks working with the in-house design team at his company, Wynn Resorts, on plans for Philadelphia.

"I think that's provocative and self-serving enough for now," he joked with the stock analysts when they pressed for details.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which runs two casinos under the Foxwoods brand in Connecticut, partnered with a group of politically connected local investors to win a state casino license for the city in 2006. The tribe has since fallen on difficult financial times and the investors have been stalled, including a botched yearlong attempt to relocate to Center City.

Wynn is expected to take at least a controlling interest in the project, with the shares of the tribe and local investors being reduced to accommodate him.