The gloves are off as Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone lay his chips on the table during the appeal hearing on the issuance of an 85-year environmental permit to Wynn’s Everett Casino.

But the much awaited face-off between Curtatone and Everett Wynn Casino President Robert DeSalvio did not happen after the Somerville mayor failed to show up in Thursday’s hearing, online news website WickedLocal reported.

Taking up the cudgels for the Curtatone, city attorneys and consulting lawyers argued before a state environmental official that Wynn’s Chapter 91 environmental permit for the casino project was issued improperly, without proper environmental reviews. The lawyers also contend that the length of the permit — 85 years — is too long.

One of the city lawyers even described the state’s issuance of an 85-year environmental license to the $2 billion waterfront casino as “fatally flawed.”