Hi Neighbors,
We sincerely hope you're having an enjoyable summer, wherever you've spent it. No matter where you've been, you likely heard about the controversial political statements Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy made, and the subsequent message Mayor Menino sent to the fast-food executive: "Chick-fil-A is not welcome in Boston." This comes on the heals of a standoff between Menino and Walmart, a chain he wants to keep out of Boston because of what he deems unfair treatment of employees, a negative impact on small businesses, and strategic charitable donations the corporation has been making to soften its image and win favor in Boston.

Regardless of how one feels about Chick-fil-A or Walmart, Mayor Menino does seem to care deeply about the integrity and values of the businesses that come to Boston.
But when we thought about this in light of his support of a casino, we had to scratch our heads. Why would the Mayor not apply at least the same amount of scrutiny to the business practices, reputation, and known impacts of casino developer Caesars Entertainment, which wants to build in our city?

So we asked him, in the form of a letter, which we submitted to his office yesterday. We point out a number of the troubling characteristics of Caesars (many of which are strikingly similar to those he criticizes in Walmart) and make a few requests of him and his Host Community Advisory Committee.

Would you ask him, too? Today (Friday) and Monday, let's contact his office and ask him to look into the predatory business practices of Caesars. Ask for Caesars' and Suffolk Downs' casino PR expenditures (marketing and polling) to be released, as well as their donations from the last five years to strategic groups and individuals in the city government. He's used his "bully pulpit" to call out Chick-fil-A and Walmart; ask him to do the same with Caesars. We simply want him to be consistent in his dealings with potential city businesses.

There are a few ways to contact his office:
Call: 617.635.4500
Online: http://www.cityofboston.gov/contact/?id=55

Thank you in advance! When he hears from hundreds of us on this issue, the irony of his positions on new businesses is bound to sink in.

Best Regards,

Celeste and Brian
for No Eastie Casino

P.S. Do you want a yard or window sign? Email us with your contact information and we'll get you one a.s.a.p.!

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[begin letter]

July 26, 2012
Thomas M. Menino
Office of the Mayor
Boston City Hall
One City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA 02201
Dear Mayor Menino,
You’ve made national news this past week for publicly banning Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant location in Boston after its president, Dan Cathy, spoke out about his views on same-sex marriage. You continue to object to Walmart opening a store within the city limits, saying that you’re worried about the quality of jobs it will bring, the availability of good benefits, the store’s impact on local businesses, and what you say is the company’s attempt to buy support by making large donations to area nonprofits.
We can see that you clearly want to welcome only businesses that treat your neighbors with respect and work for the common good of all Bostonians – especially the most vulnerable. These are noble values, values we applaud and share with regard to East Boston’s commercial neighbors.
That is why your support for a casino in East Boston seems particularly inconsistent with your vision for the city. Casino owners profit by preying upon and marketing to their neighbors, especially the most vulnerable, until they have given the casino everything they have.
First, Caesars Entertainment, which wants to build a casino at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, has made many billions of dollars from its highly successful loyalty program, which markets heavily to “frequency players” – many of them who come to play 3-5 times a week from the immediate towns and neighborhoods.[i] Caesars will not be building a destination resort at Suffolk Downs, but a slots facility that targets immigrants and working class families in East Boston, the elderly in Revere, blue-collar workers in Chelsea, and extremely vulnerable low-income populations in Boston. Slot machines take gamblers’ personal financial information and use it to target those most likely to spend more and more.[ii] We find it hard to comprehend why our city’s leadership would intentionally welcome a company that will defraud and manipulate its guests.
Second, you criticize Walmart’s employee pay and benefits, its potential impact on local businesses, and its large donations to area nonprofits. But nationwide, casino employees work extremely long hours for minimal pay and benefits. Casino workers’ unions across the country are embroiled in labor fights with casino owners, fighting for fair pay and even to keep what little they receive in tips.[iii] Recently, hundreds of employees quit just days after the opening of Cleveland’s new Horseshoe Casino — a Caesars Entertainment holding — outraged at their excessive hours and low pay. Cashiers there reported working 11-hour days and others even broke into tears after seeing their paychecks.[iv] The unions are telling their members to apply for public assistance, like food stamps, and casino employees often sleep several to a bed for lack of adequate housing.
Third, when it comes to impacting local businesses, casinos have cannibalized and closed down independent shops and restaurants in cities and towns across America. In Atlantic City, 66 percent of local restaurants and bars went out of business after a casino opened, and a third of the city’s retail businesses have since closed.[v] Even casino moguls Donald Trump and Steve Wynn admit that it’s unrealistic to think that a casino will bolster local business and more likely that it will take business away.[vi]
Fourth, you criticize Walmart for donating millions of dollars to area nonprofits, and yet those who wish to see a casino come to Boston are doing exactly the same thing. We are not against corporations giving back to their communities, only ones that make strategic donations in order to win favor and influence policy. For instance, the Boston Globe reported in October 2011 that your own charity, along with that of East Boston Senator Anthony Petruccelli, received a $10,000 donation from Suffolk Downs owner Richard Fields.[vii] You have told Walmart that Boston is “not for sale,” but how are the actions of casino advocates any different?

Finally, Caesars will likely not fulfill its end of the bargain with the City of Boston. In exchange for permission to operate, a casino is promising the city a big cut of the profits in the form of tax revenue. But in at least three other cities – Pittsburgh, Atlantic City, and St. Louis[viii] – Caesars has attempted to skip out on its tax obligations using assessment loopholes that individual property owners do not have at their disposal. Atlantic City was left with a huge budget shortfall when it was forced to pay back Caesars $27 million in property tax payments.[ix]
Is this the kind of business you, Mr. Mayor, want to see setting up shop in Boston?
As residents of this great city, we implore you to apply the same level of scrutiny to any casino operator that you have to Chick-fil-A and Walmart. We ask you to call on the Host Community Advisory Committee to thoroughly investigate and report on the nature of potentially predatory financial practices used by Caesars Entertainment to target, lend and market to low- and middle-income families. Furthermore, we want to know just how much casino developers and their proxies are spending to buy our votes. We ask the Host Community Advisory Committee to require the developer and Suffolk Downs to disclose all donations from the last five years to organizations, political action groups, or campaigns with ties to city leadership, as well as release the amount of money they are spending on polling and marketing. We’re confident that when you and your advisory committee scrutinize Caesars, it won’t be a wonderful potential neighbor you find, but a predatory institution that will tear down--rather than build up — the increasingly vibrant, diverse, and growing community we are working to sustain.
Respectfully,
Brian Gannon, (617) 767-6046
Celeste Myers, (617) 913-3332
No Eastie Casino
Sources:

[v] Evelyn Nieves, “Our Towns: Taste of Hope at Restaurants Casinos Hurt,” New York Times, March 23, 1997, section 1, p. 39.
[vi] Interview with Donald Trump. "The Jackpot State", The Miami Herald, March 27, 1994