April 18–Amid talks of Wynn Resorts potentially selling its Boston-area casino project to MGM Resorts International, a new website is linking the two.
MGMBostonHarbor.com was registered last month. The domain was purchased through a proxy service — Domains By Proxy, LLC — an online company owned by the founder of GoDaddy.
By purchasing the website URL through the service, the owner of MGMBostonHarbor.com was kept secret.
Saverio Mancini, spokesman for MGM Springfield, said the domain was not purchased by the company.
MGM Resorts owns thousands of domains connected to its entertainment, dining and lodging offerings across the globe, including several created leading up to the MGM Springfield casino project's approval in Massachusetts. These domains were registered under the company's name.
MGMBostonHarbor.com was likely purchased by a domain squatter, someone hoping to sell it for a high markup should the Wynn-MGM deal go through.
The MGM Boston Harbor domain was bought on March 15, a month after Steve Wynn stepped down as CEO of Wynn Resorts and a week prior to him selling his 8 million shares of the company he founded.
Several people familiar with the matter confirmed to MassLive that the ramifications of MGM purchasing Wynn Boston Harbor are being explored.
MGM, which is building a $960 million casino slated to open in September in Springfield, has declined to discuss but has not denied the reported talks.
"We do not comment on rumors or speculations around transactions," said Debra DeShong, senior vice president of global corporate communications and industry affairs told MassLive. "We remain fully committed to the opening and success of MGM Springfield."
Wynn Resorts is building a $2.4 billion casino project in Everett.
"We remain very excited about the Boston market," Wynn CEO Matt Maddox said in a statement in response to speculation about a potential sale of the Boston-area project. "However, our obligation to shareholders is always to maximize the value of our assets and to mitigate risk."
An investigation into Wynn's suitability to operate a casino in Massachusetts remains underway by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
This article has been updated with comment from MGM Springfield.
