Wynn Resorts in talks to sell $2.6-billion Massachusetts casino to MGM

[May 18, 2019]    (Reuters) - Wynn Resorts Ltd is in talks to sell its nearly finished $2.6 billion casino outside of Boston to rival MGM Resorts International, the two companies said on Friday.

Las Vegas-based Wynn received its Massachusetts license in 2013, allowing it to go ahead with building the 671-room Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Massachusetts. It is expected to open in June.

The talks over a possible sale has been on for the past several weeks and were in the "very" preliminary stages, but that would not delay the opening of the casino, the companies said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

A deal would be complicated for MGM, which has a casino in Springfield, as according to the state's gaming commission Massachusetts forbids companies from holding more than one casino license in the state.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission had in April fined Wynn Resorts $35 million for not disclosing sexual misconduct allegations against founder and former chief executive officer Steve Wynn, but allowed the casino operator to keep its license.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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