Wynn to Mayor Curtatone: ‘How about we get lunch?’

A casino magnate eager to bring a new resort to the Boston area said he’d be willing to meet with a neighboring mayor who opposes the venture.

Steve Wynn reportedly seemed enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting with Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, who opposed efforts to legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts and whose legal challenges to Wynn’s project in Everett are delaying the $2 billion facility’s construction.

“How about we get lunch?” Wynn said when asked by reporters if he had a message for Curtatone, according to Boston.com.

“How can I not [meet with him]? They’re neighbors, and you want to have — if you’ve got your head screwed on straight — a good cordial relationship with everybody, especially if it’s where your employees live. I think that’s a natural, wonderful thing to do.”

An appeal of a state decision by Curtatone to give Wynn a license for waterfront construction was heard last week, according to the report.

A decision is expected later this summer, but the project can’t start while the appeal is underway.