The Boston area is on the verge of learning whether a casino will be built in Revere or Everett.

A decision could come early next week, as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will resume meetings Monday to talk about the proposals from Wynn Resorts in Everett and Mohegan Sun in Revere. Tuesday and Wednesday have also been blocked out for meetings if necessary. The board could also still opt not to award the license to either party.

This is the big one. This casino is expected to serve as the most lucrative in the state, as the only one in striking distance of Boston. The pursuit of the license has also created plenty of drama, complete with board chair Stephen Crosby having recused himself from Boston-area casino discussions in the spring due to perceived conflicts of interest.


The board met Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this past week, kicking off deliberations.

How have things gone so far?

In preparation for this past week’s meetings, individual commissioners were tasked with working with experts to analyze different elements of the two plans. They reported back to the entire board with presentations on Monday and Tuesday.

The commissioners’ findings provide a cursory look at where the two bids stand in the eyes of the board. Discussions moving forward will focus on the board’s attempts to reach a consensus about which proposal will ultimately serve as Greater Boston’s only casino.

Here’s how the proposals were judged in those presentations:

(The categories, detailed below, are being judged on a four-point scale: “Insufficient,’’ “Sufficient,’’ “Very good,’’ and “Outstanding.’’)

BUILDING AND SITE DESIGN

Presented by: Commissioner James McHugh

Entails: Physical building design, how it fits in with its surroundings, parking and transportation, landscaping, more

Wynn rating: Sufficient

Mohegan Sun rating: Sufficient/Very good

FINANCES

Presented by: Commissioner Enrique Zuniga

Entails: Available money, how money will be spent, view of casino market, more

Wynn rating: Very good/Outstanding

Mohegan Sun rating: Sufficient

MITIGATION

Presented by: Commissioner Gayle Cameron

Entails: Traffic, agreements with host and nearby cities, efforts to fight problem gambling, more


Wynn rating: Insufficient/Sufficient

Mohegan Sun rating: Sufficient/Very good

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Presented by: Commissioner Bruce Stebbins

Entails: Job creation, effect on nearby businesses, efforts to grow regional tourism, more

Wynn rating: Very good

Mohegan Sun rating: Sufficient/Very good

OVERVIEW

Commission members also had a list of eight questions that touched on all of the above areas. Their research into the questions found Wynn and Mohegan Sun to be tied on three of them and for Wynn to have the lead in five. Mohegan Sun topped none of the eight sub-categories.

Scoreboard

Based on the presentations, Wynn looks to be in better position to the board on the financial, economic development, and overview fronts. Mohegan has the advantage in terms of design and mitigation.

Tallying it up, that’s a 3-2 lead for Wynn. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Wynn will (ahem) win. The details of how the two sites graded out have plenty of nuance, and there are certain areas with both proposals that the board seems particularly worried about. Which brings us to…

Sticking points

A few issues have come up throughout the Eastern Mass. casino proceedings.

•Traffic: The traffic issues at Sullivan Square, which are already awful and would likely be further affected by a Wynn casino, have been a continued topic of discussion.

•Looks: The board doesn’t have a lot of love for Wynn’s building design, and has said it thinks the company could do better.

•Vision: For Mohegan Sun, the board has repeatedly contrasted Mohegan Sun’s view of the marketplace with Wynn’s. Mohegan Sun, the board says, sees Eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire as the crux of its patrons. Wynn employs more of a ‘destination’ mindset, with the intention to leverage its brand name to attract gamblers from outside New England and overseas to the resort while still offering locals a place to gamble. The board seems more excited about the Wynn approach.


•Money: Mohegan’s financing is also at issue. Commissioner Enrique Zuniga, tasked with looking at the financial pictures for both sites, said he was uncomfortable with the amount of debt being taken on by Mohegan Sun and called on the company to find further equity.

Oh, and Boston’s mad as hell.

On Thursday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh sent a not-so-friendly letter to the commission, accusing it of bias against the city, challenging its right to make a decision next week, and leaving the door open for legal action should the board move forward. Walsh, who supported the expanded gambling law as a state representative when the legislation was crafted, has feuded with the board since beginning his term at the start of this year.

Though Walsh tells The Boston Globe he doesn’t care who gets the license, the city has much to gain, or to lose, based on how the final vote works out. Walsh struck a lucrative surrounding community agreement with Mohegan Sun earlier this year, while the prospect of compensation from Wynn is still up in the air. Boston would almost certainly see less in its pockets if Wynn receives the license—and Walsh on Thursday suggested he felt the board had already decided in Wynn’s favor. Should Wynn receive the license, the Texas Hold’em metaphors will run rampant as all eyes will turn to see if the city brings suit.

An interesting side note: The board proposed a condition for the Everett plan, as reported by CommonWealth Magazine, that calls for Wynn to obtain permitting from Boston for mitigation efforts in Sullivan Square or risk losing the license. That could give Walsh some leverage if he’s hoping to eventually reach a more favorable agreement with Wynn. However, Walsh appeared to be aware of that condition before sending the letter, telling The Boston Herald: “Sullivan Square is something that we want to improve whether or not there’s a casino there, and I’m not going to be accused of holding up permits moving a project forward.’’

In other words, even that possible leverage doesn’t seem all that likely to appease Walsh. A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to a request for further comment on that condition Friday.

Speaking of conditions…

The board gave the two companies lists of recommended conditions for receiving the license on Wednesday. Wynn and Mohegan Sun were given until Friday at 5 p.m. to respond, and the responses will be made publicly available on Monday morning. Along with several other items, the conditions do, indeed, involve the sticking points listed above.

For instance, Mohegan Sun’s finances, Mohegan Sun’s marketing plans, Wynn’s Sullivan Square traffic mitigation efforts, and Wynn’s planned building design are all addressed in the conditions.

How the companies react to those conditions figures to play a role in how the board votes. CommonWealth drills this point home by looking at some of the discussion surrounding the conditions:

During the formal part of the meeting, (Commissioner James McHugh) said Wynn is capable of a much better design. After the meeting, he used much stronger language in criticizing the building and indicated a Wynn refusal to change its design could be a deal-breaker for him. … “Sullivan Square is a big piece, perhaps a primary piece, of this project to proceed,’’ (McHugh) said. While acknowledging Wynn can’t address the traffic problems at Sullivan Square alone, McHugh indicated he believes Wynn must be aggressive in dealing with them. “This is a key to the success of this proposal,’’ he said. … But (Commissioner Enrique) Zuniga persisted, stressing several times that he was “uncomfortable’’ with Mohegan Sun’s finances. At one point he indicated he would probably have to vote against Mohegan Sun receiving a casino license if his concerns weren’t addressed to at least some degree by licensing conditions.

So, what next?

The board’s full deliberations will come next, starting at 11 a.m. Monday, and a vote is expected at some point next week.

Oh, and by the way, looming in the background is the possibility that voters could choose to up and do away with the expanded gambling law in November’s election, rendering the entire process moot. That would also do away with the plans for an MGM resort casino in Springfield and the Penn National slots parlor already underway in Plainville. So far, that doesn’t look particularly likely—but we’ll see how things develop as election season advances.