Suffolk Downs commuters head for shuttle buses. Photo by Boxbot.

John Antonellis is our guest writer on today's post. John has been a resident of Eagle Hill in East Boston for close to 15 years and a homeowner there for 12. He is the Lead Instructor at the Harvard Bridge Program, a worker education program for employees at Harvard University.

The Globe reports Vornado Realty Trust, which left a giant gaping sore in the heart of downtown, is pulling out of the Suffolk Downs casino proposal because state officials dared to ask it for detailed financial information on its executives, to make sure they aren't actually organized crime figures or illegal ivory importers or something.

mit·i·ga·tion /?mit?'gaSH?n/ (noun) - The action of reducing the severity, seriousness or painfulness of something

As you read this, a committee hand-picked by Mayor Menino is behind closed doors figuring out how much Caesars and Suffolk Downs will have to pay the city back for building a casino that sucks income from local businesses while increasing its crime, traffic, pollution and gambling addiction rates. It's called "mitigation," and it's essentially how casino companies get cities to even consider welcoming them.

Federal officials say Suffolk Downs bettors who wanted to avoid taxes on their winnings knew they could count on Gary Boyar to help them out - by cashing in their tickets and filling out the required tax forms with his dead father's social-security number, in exchange for 10% of the receipts.

A federal grand jury in Boston indicted Boyar earlier this month on charges of tax evasion, corruptly endeavoring to impede the IRS and filing false alarms for money he allegedly made at the track between 2004 and 2006.

Suffolk Downs has put up renderings and justifications for its proposed $1-billion resort hotel which, to the untrained eye, looks like something you'd expect to see at the airport, rather than as a destination.

Looks like the track and Mayor Menino will be fighting a proposal for Milford for the one eastern-Massachusetts gambling license. If successful, Suffolk Downs wants to install 4,000 to 5,000 slot machines, 200 table games and a poker room, along with "six fine dining concepts," food for those with less refined tastes (a buffet and food court) and 300 hotel rooms.

Promotional video - watch past the intro to be reassured that no, they're not planning to put it in Copley Square:

Mayor Menino today announced a Host Community Advisory Committee to consider the ramifications of a proposed resort casino at Suffolk Downs, chaired by Brian Leary, partner at McCarter and English (and, yes, former Channel 5 reporter).

Other members: Sarah Barnat, VP of development, National Development (and East Boston resident); Lisa Calise, CFO, Perkins School for the Blind (and former top financial aide to the mayor); and Ronald L. Walker II, president and founding partner of Next Street.

The Herald reports on the looming battle royale between Tom Menino, who wants a casino at Suffolk Downs, and Robert Kraft, who wants a casino next to his football stadium/mall in Foxboro.