Suffolk Downs offers casino proposal; Milford rival stands by plan

Suffolk Downs unveiled its plans Tuesday to team up with Caesars Entertainment on a $1 billion casino development on the site of the aging, 1935 horse track, revealing a development plan that includes retail shops, nightclubs and a luxury spa that proponents said would create 2,500 construction jobs and 4,000 resort jobs for local residents.

The hopeful developers of the seaside race course in East Boston and Revere, who enjoy the backing of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, are competing for the eastern regions lone casino license against another proposal to locate a casino resort on a larger tract of forest in Milford next to Interstate 495.

The plan calls for up to 5,000 slot machines and 200 table games in 200,000 square feet of gaming space that developers said would generate an estimated $200 million in annual tax revenue and $150 million a year in annual spending at regional vendors.

Project officials also listed members of their development team, including architect Elkus Manfredi of Boston, general contractor Suffolk Construction of Boston, transportation specialists Vanasse Hangen Brustlin of Boston and Seagull Consulting of Winthrop, and engineers Haley & Aldrich of Boston, Nitsch Engineering of Boston, and McNamara/Salvia Inc. of Boston.

Meanwhile, the developer of the proposed Crossroads Casino in Milford has allegedly not met with the towns administrator since before the actual signing of the gaming law in November 2011.

The Board of Selectmen is waiting to hear an actual, definite proposal. To this day they havent had anything to weigh, Milford Town Administrator Louis Celozzi told the News Service. We just havent gotten to that point.

Crossroads developer David Nunes, a Bolton native who now lives in Colorado, disputed Celozzis take, writing in response to an email that he is in constant touch with the community and its officials. Earlier on Tuesday, Nunes told the News Service that his proposal was the first to secure an exclusivity agreement with the host community, a step Celozzi discounted as minor.

Its not that weve been inundated with proposals, Celozzi said.

Two of the three selectmen in Milford had different levels of optimism about the proposal, but both said they had not spoken with Nunes in nine months to a year.

Im questioning the seriousness of the proposal at this point, Selectman William D. Buckley said.

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Suffolk Downs offers casino proposal; Milford rival stands by plan