The board last month fined Foxwoods $2,000 per day for missing the deadline. As of today, the fine has reached $172,000.
Wynn's arrival comes as the local project's investors face a Gaming Control Board hearing next Wednesday when they could face further sanctions, including revocation of the casino license.
"I am thrilled to be returning to the East Coast and in particular to the city in which I was privileged to have gained my college education," Wynn said in a statement released by Wynn Resorts. "Having attended the University of Pennsylvania for four years and served as a trustee for an additional 10 years, Philadelphia has always felt like home to me."
An attorney for the local project told the Gaming Control Board that it missed the Dec. 1 deadline because a potential new investor expected to play a role in designing the new casino.
Wynn said he signed a letter of intent with Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners, a group of politically connected investors who joined with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to win a casino license in 2006. The tribe, which runs two casinos under the Foxwoods brand in Connecticut, ran into serious financial hardship last year.
Wynn's arrival means he will likely take majority control of the project, with the shares currently held by the tribe and local investers being reduced. He will also take on the tasks of financing, building and running the casino.
Wynn said an affiliate of his company would manage the Philadelphia casino if approved by the Gaming Control Board.
Board spokesman Richard McGarvey said his agency was aware of Wynn's statement, but no petition to change the ownership structure of the Philadelphia casino has been submitted.
Wynn Resorts operates Wynn Las Vegas, which has two casinos and hotels, and Wynn Macau in the People's Republic of China.
