The refusal of Beacon Hill to conduct an Independent Cost Benefit Analysis conceals the impacts to entire regions, not simply of DIUs caused by 24/7/365 free alcohol and increased auto accidents, but numerous other issues, many of which were considered on the Spectrum Gaming Report prepared for the CT DOSR that can be found here: United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts.
Drunken Driving Fatalities and Accidents Increase: Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have at least 50% more OUI arrests than any other State Police troop in CT. Drunken driving related fatalities almost doubled in the area during 2009 vs. 2008 because the casino revenue to the state decreased leading to budget cuts in police force. Before “Happy Hours” were outlawed in Massachusetts in 1984, there were 411 drunken driving related fatalities compared to only 151 in 2008. Casinos will have Happy Hours 24/7/365!!!
This is reminiscent of some of those impacts:
Ickler: A gambling lesson from Connecticut
The folks in Milford and surrounding communities who want to gamble on a resort casino as the answer to their budget woes would be wise to emulate the Warren Casino Study Committee.
In case you haven't heard of it, Warren is a small town just off the Mass. Pike in central Massachusetts. Like Milford, Warren is being considered as a resort casino site. In early May, the Casino Study Committee held an open forum. Invited speakers were Bill Haase, former Ledyard, Conn., town planner; Michael Finkelstein, Ledyard executive police officer, and Marcia Vlaun, Montville, Conn., planning director.
The forum was moderated by Megan Diprete and Vera Kolias from the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. The following information comes from a story in the Ware River News, which sent a correspondent to cover the session.
It's no surprise that Haase reported an increase in traffic when Foxwoods opened. What is surprising is the enormity of the increase. Traffic studies predicted traffic that would equal that of a major shopping mall. Instead, according to Haase, "about everybody in southern New England showed up." Traffic was backed up into neighboring towns and the traffic engineer was heard saying "Oh, my God" over and over again.
Traffic on the main route in Ledyard increased by 249 percent between 1988 and 1996. Local roads have also been affected because people who know the area use them to get to the casino.
Haase warned the Warren group about deals done in secrecy. The state of Connecticut dealt with the Mashantucket Tribe in secret and the result was money for the state but none for the host communities. "There are no special monetary rewards that the host communities get just for being host communities," Haase said.
Vlaun also stressed the importance of the local communities getting involved from the first roll of the dice. "If there is one point I want to drive home to you tonight, it's that everyone in this situation is going to act in their own self interest. The state is going to act in its own interest. The developer will do the same. It's up to you as a community to act in your own self interest, because no one is going to do it for you."
Are you listening, Milford, Hopedale, Holliston, Mendon, Bellingham and Medway?
Vlaun's warning didn't end there. "Once the money becomes politicized, you'll hear a giant sucking sound out of these resorts, up to your state capital, where the money is then reallocated to your urban centers. I am a host community, and my town gets less in aid than cities and towns in the western part of Connecticut. Towns that aren't even impacted by the casinos get more than our towns get."
She said the "biggest lesson learned" is that "the money is not going to flow to you unless you aggressively lobby for it and have a presence at your state capital because there are so many other powerful forces that are going to out-do you."
Haase also pointed out that casinos aren't recession-proof no matter what they say about jobs (Foxwoods laid off 1,200 last year) and that local business places such as restaurants and retail stores will not benefit from a casino. Casinos are one-stop shopping centers with restaurants, stores and gaming all under one giant roof.
Vlaun said that before the opening of Mohegan Sun, Montville police received approximately 7,500 calls a year. That number is now 15,000 per year. Finkelstein said Ledyard has upped the size of its police force from 16 to 24 to meet the demand there.
It's obvious from these comments that when a casino comes to town the odds are against the host unless local officials are watching every turn of the card. Those of us in neighboring towns should insist that our officials also get involved in the Milford casino debate before the dice are rolled and traffic jams and increased costs make losers of us all.
Drunken Driving Fatalities and Accidents Increase: Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have at least 50% more OUI arrests than any other State Police troop in CT. Drunken driving related fatalities almost doubled in the area during 2009 vs. 2008 because the casino revenue to the state decreased leading to budget cuts in police force. Before “Happy Hours” were outlawed in Massachusetts in 1984, there were 411 drunken driving related fatalities compared to only 151 in 2008. Casinos will have Happy Hours 24/7/365!!!
This is reminiscent of some of those impacts:
Ickler: A gambling lesson from Connecticut
The folks in Milford and surrounding communities who want to gamble on a resort casino as the answer to their budget woes would be wise to emulate the Warren Casino Study Committee.
In case you haven't heard of it, Warren is a small town just off the Mass. Pike in central Massachusetts. Like Milford, Warren is being considered as a resort casino site. In early May, the Casino Study Committee held an open forum. Invited speakers were Bill Haase, former Ledyard, Conn., town planner; Michael Finkelstein, Ledyard executive police officer, and Marcia Vlaun, Montville, Conn., planning director.
The forum was moderated by Megan Diprete and Vera Kolias from the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. The following information comes from a story in the Ware River News, which sent a correspondent to cover the session.
It's no surprise that Haase reported an increase in traffic when Foxwoods opened. What is surprising is the enormity of the increase. Traffic studies predicted traffic that would equal that of a major shopping mall. Instead, according to Haase, "about everybody in southern New England showed up." Traffic was backed up into neighboring towns and the traffic engineer was heard saying "Oh, my God" over and over again.
Traffic on the main route in Ledyard increased by 249 percent between 1988 and 1996. Local roads have also been affected because people who know the area use them to get to the casino.
Haase warned the Warren group about deals done in secrecy. The state of Connecticut dealt with the Mashantucket Tribe in secret and the result was money for the state but none for the host communities. "There are no special monetary rewards that the host communities get just for being host communities," Haase said.
Vlaun also stressed the importance of the local communities getting involved from the first roll of the dice. "If there is one point I want to drive home to you tonight, it's that everyone in this situation is going to act in their own self interest. The state is going to act in its own interest. The developer will do the same. It's up to you as a community to act in your own self interest, because no one is going to do it for you."
Are you listening, Milford, Hopedale, Holliston, Mendon, Bellingham and Medway?
Vlaun's warning didn't end there. "Once the money becomes politicized, you'll hear a giant sucking sound out of these resorts, up to your state capital, where the money is then reallocated to your urban centers. I am a host community, and my town gets less in aid than cities and towns in the western part of Connecticut. Towns that aren't even impacted by the casinos get more than our towns get."
She said the "biggest lesson learned" is that "the money is not going to flow to you unless you aggressively lobby for it and have a presence at your state capital because there are so many other powerful forces that are going to out-do you."
Haase also pointed out that casinos aren't recession-proof no matter what they say about jobs (Foxwoods laid off 1,200 last year) and that local business places such as restaurants and retail stores will not benefit from a casino. Casinos are one-stop shopping centers with restaurants, stores and gaming all under one giant roof.
Vlaun said that before the opening of Mohegan Sun, Montville police received approximately 7,500 calls a year. That number is now 15,000 per year. Finkelstein said Ledyard has upped the size of its police force from 16 to 24 to meet the demand there.
It's obvious from these comments that when a casino comes to town the odds are against the host unless local officials are watching every turn of the card. Those of us in neighboring towns should insist that our officials also get involved in the Milford casino debate before the dice are rolled and traffic jams and increased costs make losers of us all.
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