Assembly has outlets. People who shop at outlets aren't going to take their business to the highfalutin stores Wynn puts at the Casino. Different niche markets.
I had a big post but chrome crashed.
But basically, yes. The casino is not going to syphon off much traffic from anywhere except possibly tourists shopping in Faneuil (who are getting tossed out anyway). The only other traffic I can see being diverted are those from Everett going to Cambridgeside, and that's only if Wynn has lower end stores.
Also, look at that design. Jesus christ, gaudy doesn't even begin to describe that neo-rococo mall meets greenhouse disaster.
Actually rich people won't be caught dead there unless they are already gambling. Less than rich people are going to keep going wherever they go now, it's not worth trekking to a casino. People who are shopping at outlets aren't going to go there because there aren't outlets. Poor people are going to blow all their money on gambling if they are there and won't be shopping. All this verbatim regarding the restaurants.
Even if the casino does somehow start sucking people out of the traditional shopping areas (which I highly doubt it will), it will be those who want to shop at sterile, corporate stores. So the traditional retail districts will have to re-reorient back to having local retailers. How is this bad?
And regarding nightlife, it would be awesome if the casino forced the downtown clubs to up their game. Boston does the small bar scene great, and the casino isn't going to syphon off one customer from that. But the clubs suck. There is nothing bad about them having to make the decision to seriously reevaluate what they are doing or risk shutting down. Although, I'm skeptical that will even happen. Boston has an unquenchable thirst for nightlife that's not nearly being met, and the population continues to increase. If anything this will just be filling a void.
IMO, the casino is going to create its own market. It's not going to syphon people off of anything, it's simply going to attract more people to it. Tourists will stay a day longer, people will go out to gamble and whatever-else-you-do-at-a-casino instead of staying home. The percentage loss of business from what's already happening will be little to none.