Steve Wynn's 'Poor People' Comment Strikes Nerve

SOMERVILLE, MA -Steve Wynn, the casino mogul who has been in a heated battle with Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone over plans to build a huge casino in Everett, reportedly made an interesting comment during a call with investors Wednesday.

Wynn compared his casinos to the "Chanel" or "Louis Vuitton" of gaming but qualified that he could cater to a wider audience, according to a transcript of the phone call from Seeking Alpha.

"But unlike Chanel and Louis Vuitton, we are able in our business to cater to all of the market by making our standard so high that everybody wants to in the building," Wynn said, according to the transcript.

“Or to put it in a more colloquial way, rich people only like being around rich people. Nobody likes being around poor people, especially poor people," he continued.

Wynn's staff quickly jumped to his defense after the choice phrasing was noticed by multiple news outlets and the social media community.

"[The comment' was made in the context of a discussion that the company creates luxurious resorts which have an aspirational appeal to a broad range of guests," Wynn Resorts spokesman Michael Weaver said in a statement Friday, according to Boston.com.

Wynn wants to build a $2 billion Everett casino featuring a huge statute of Popeye the Sailor Man in the lobby (see video below). His plans were stalled after Mayor Curtatone legally challenged the project's environmental permit in February, Boston.com reported.

The actions delayed the casino's spring 2018 opening, likely pushing it to late 2019 pending an appeal hearing in June, Boston.com reported.

“This is more an irritation,’’ Wynn said at press conference last month in reference to the holdup, according to Boston.com.

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