The NBA champion Boston Celtics are for sale. Back when the Pittsburgh Penguins were sold to Fenway Sports Group (famously the owner of the Boston Red Sox), we talked about how sports team ownership has become little more than a rich person's vanity project investment.
As reigning NBA champions, the Celtics' value is likely at its highest, leading to the timing of the sale. That’s a different situation than the Ottawa Senators, who were the last NHL team to be placed on the market, whose timing was based on the team being placed in a trust after the death of former owner Eugene Melnyk.
One of the reported bidders for the Celtics is “Wynn”, which could be one of two parties. It could either reference Wynn Resorts, a luxury casino company, or their former owner Steve Wynn. A source to sports betting columnist Bill Speros suspects it would be Steve Wynn himself.
Here’s where it might get interesting for hockey fans. Steve Wynn is a major player in Las Vegas. His development of casinos such as Mirage and Bellagio ushered in the “new era” of Vegas.
His name has become synonymous with Las Vegas even if he currently has no controlling ownership in any resorts (even the ones that still have his name).
If Wynn wants to get in the sports ownership game, the Vegas Golden Knights seem like an obvious choice. There’s no indication current owner Billy Foley is looking to sell, but what if it was even for a minority stake?
Owning a part of a beloved sports team in a city you helped build has to have insane bragging rights. Wynn has the time, and more importantly, the cash, if the opportunity arose.
Let’s keep this hypothetical scenario going. Wynn trying to become an NHL owner, even in the smallest of proportions, is sure to bring up some interesting questions with the league, especially his past as a casino owner.
In the legalized sports betting era leagues have been happy to partner with gambling apps with their increased revenue. Wynn Resorts is even a sponsor of the Golden Knights.
Allowing a casino owner to have any part of control is a different story. Even if he currently doesn’t own a casino, Wynn still holds power and influence over the industry.
The possibility of him owning another casino also exists in the future. If the NHL lets him in and then he decides to buy another casino a few years later is the league going to make him diverge his hypothetical Golden Knights interests?
Different leagues have different rules and the best example is Tilman Fertitta. Fertitta owns many businesses, including the Golden Nugget casino chain (ironically once also owned by Steve Wynn).
Fertitta owns the Houston Rockets of the NBA, but was denied the opportunity to buy the Houston Texans of the NFL years earlier because that league prevented owners from “having a gambling-related business”.
That was in 2008, a decade before legalized sports gambling and the overall attitude of sports leagues began to cool. Fertitta bought the Rockets in September 2017, shortly before the June 2018 ruling that legalized sports betting nationwide.
Fertita is also seeking an NHL franchise for the Houston area and mentioned he talked to the NHL about it. The seemingly open line of communication makes it seem being a casino owner isn’t necessarily a “non-starter” for NHL ownership.
Fertitta being a current major league sports owner also would go a long way toward NHL approval.
Current Golden Knights owner Bill Foley might be a Vegas resident, but his fortune comes from financial services, not casinos.
The casino company MGM Resorts International owns part of the Golden Knight’s home arena, but not the team itself. The NHL continues to use Caesars as its league-wide sportsbook partner.