Massachusetts Takes Gambling Leap

Massachusetts Takes Gambling Leap
Casinos: Added revenue, yes, but be prepared to fix coming problems

Money should start flowing into Massachusetts' treasury in a few years now that Gov. Deval Patrick has signed the casino bill into law. But residents of the Bay State must realize — if they don't already — that there's likely to be a peck of trouble along with that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Massachusetts needs to be prepared to fix the social and economic consequences that, based on Connecticut's experience, are sure to develop.

Commonwealth politicians debated the casino issue for several years before passing, earlier this year, legislation that allows one full-service casino in the southeast portion of the state, one in the Boston area and one in western Massachusetts. The Massachusetts pleasure domes will drain some business from the Connecticut tribal behemoths, Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan Sun.

Mr. Patrick is excited about casino prospects, saying that "if done right, expanded gaming can create jobs, generate new revenue and spur economic growth in every region" of the state. That rosy scenario is at least partially true. Casinos are good for creating thousands of low- to middle-paying jobs. But gaming isn't a Route 128-style industry.

Massachusetts politicians would be foolish to count on casinos being fonts of always-growing revenue streams for the state. Casino revenues have been flat in Connecticut. The industry is not recession-proof.

Connecticut's experience also shows that there are other problems that casino gaming will bring to Massachusetts along with the jobs and the glitter. Casinos can be business-killers, in the words of Jeff Benedict, former president of the Connecticut Alliance Against Casino Expansion. The region around the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot casinos has seen restaurants and other small businesses bite the dust. Casino-bound traffic can bottle up a town.

Gaming will mean dire social consequences for those who can't control their gambling — in Connecticut, a surprising number of them trusted government officials, accountants, pillars of their communities — and their families. More bankruptcies. More divorces and broken homes. More kids at risk. More suicides.

Get ready, Bay State, to spend a lot of that new money on fixing new problems.