Casino vote triggers end for Suffolk Downs

REVERE – “Devastating” is the word Revere Mayor Daniel Rizzo used Tuesday to describe the job losses rippling out from state gambling officials’ decision to pass over Suffolk Downs in favor of an Everett casino.Hours after the state Gaming Commission took its mid-afternoon 3-1 vote in favor of Wynn Everett’s proposal, Rizzo estimated 200 Revere residents will be among thoroughbred horse racing employees who will lose their jobs.”The notion of these people getting pink slips weighs heavily on me,” Rizzo said.Suffolk Downs Chief Operating Officer Chip Tuttle, in a statement, said officials at the 160-acre Revere-East Boston track “will be meeting with employees and horsemen over the next several days to talk about how we wind down racing operations as a 79-year legacy of thoroughbred racing in Massachusetts will be coming to an end…””We are extraordinarily disappointed as this action is likely to cost the commonwealth thousands of jobs, small business and family farms,” Tuttle stated.Tuttle said a report prepared by track officials estimates 1,400 jobs are associated with the horseracing industry. He said Suffolk employs 325 workers, and 500 employees work in the track barns and stables caring for up to 1,000 horses.Rolando Calderon has worked as a stable groom at Suffolk for 13 years and said track workers could see their jobs end sooner than later.”In a couple of weeks, everyone will go away,” he predicted.Located across Winthrop Avenue from the track stables, Luigi’s is a popular restaurant for Suffolk workers, said part-time restaurant employee Joe Wilcox. He said the effect the commission vote has on the track will be felt in Luigi’s and other Revere businesses.Many Suffolk employees, said Wilcox, have only known the track during their working lives.”It’s all they have got,” he said.Suffolk and partner Mohegan Sun hoped to build a casino, hotels and restaurants around Suffolk Downs. The track lost $47 million since 2007, according to a State House News Service report, with Suffolk injecting $50 million into the racing operation during the past seven years.Rizzo praised Revere residents for approving two referendums for a Suffolk casino and said commissioners in their vote left questions concerning Everett site cleanup and job generation unanswered.”They chose risky over safe. By the end of this week, 850 people will be out of work,” Rizzo said.Wynn chairman Steve Wynn, in a statement, praised commissioners for the “thoughtful and exhaustive” effort they put into choosing Everett over Revere for a casino license.That decision caught Revere resident Rick Palmer by surprise. Palmer said he grew up at Suffolk Downs walking horses and called the track “a natural place” for a casino.”What’s going to happen now? Everything’s going to Everett,” he said.Rizzo warned Revere will feel the economic blow of a second local race track closing in a six-year span. The former Wonderland Greyhound Park sits rundown and empty off North Shore Road.”I still think the city’s future is bright. My main concern right now is the employees: My heart goes out to them,” he said.Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce Director Leslie Gould, in a statement, expressed hope for Suffolk executives and supporters to seek “alternative economic development opportunities” potentially benefiting Lynn and Revere’s other neighbors before the track closes.”We hope that the success in Everett will create sustainable new jobs felt on this side of the bridge,” Gould added.Calderon recalled happier times 10 years ago at Suffolk when “people made money and everyone was happy.” His plan – for now – is to follow horse owners and racers to tracks in Tampa, Fla.