Foxwoods is New Partner for Crossroads Casino

The application for a resort casino in Milford has taken on a new face: Foxwoods.

Foxwoods Resort Casino has joined on to the Crossroads Massachusetts application as a full partner, according to a report Sunday in The Boston Globe.

Scott Butera, chief executive of Foxwoods, told the Globe the Milford location would not compete with the resort in Ledyard, CT, and would be the best candidate for the metro Boston casino license.

The shift in partners comes as the application made by David Nunes is before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for a Phase I review, which evaluates the finances of the applicants, and whether they have the appropriate integrity for the project. This will include a background investigation of key employees and investors, according to the state commission.

An overview of the applications released by the Gaming Commission on Jan. 15, the deadline date, named Warner Gaming as the sole partner for the Crossroads Massachusetts effort. The full application has not yet been released to the public.

Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for the Gaming Commission, said Monday nothing prevents an applicant from adding a new partner, either for operating the gaming facility or for financing.

"Anybody that's newly identified still needs to go through the extensive background process," she said.

At this point, she said, several of the applicants are still in the process of identifying partners.

a group that is organizing opposition to the Milford location, shared the Boston Globe report among its followers Sunday. Ken Rockett, an organizer of the group, said he felt the involvement of Foxwoods would strengthen the casino application for Phase I.

"It's a known player," he said. And as best he could determine, Foxwoods "has deeper pockets. It only strengthens their application."

Crossroads Massachusetts is competing with two applications in the Boston metro area for the single license available in the Boston to Worcester region. The competitors are a plan by eight partners, including Ceasars Entertainment, to redevelop Suffolk Downs in East Boston, and another by Wynn Resorts to redevelop an industrial site in Everett.