A Slot Barn for Raynham

A majority of voters agreed....this isn't about racing....

OUR OPINION: Don’t bet against Carney on slots

The Enterprise
Posted Feb 24, 2013

George Carney didn’t become rich and successful by backing down from competition. And while the owner of the Raynham-Taunton dog track lost one big battle when live greyhound racing was banned by Massachusetts voters, he has stayed to fight another day.

Carney, working with Greenwood Racing, owner of Parx Casino & Racing in Philadelphia, was the second bidder to plunk down $400,000 to apply for a slot-machine parlor. MassWay /Anchor Partners also had applied for a license at the Plainridge harness racing track. The two new players, Cordish Company and Rush Street Gaming, decided at the deadline to apply for a license for the single slot-machine license that will be granted in the state.

Unlike many communities, there has been no organized opposition to a slots parlor in Raynham. Carney has lobbied for years to convince the Legislature to grant him a license for slot machines at his greyhound track on Route 138.

It never happened and after greyhound racing was banned in 2010, hundreds of people lost their jobs and millions of dollars in taxes dried up. It hurt the town of Raynham and the state, but life moved on.

Carney showed he could survive – by relying on a much smaller staff and simulcasting races from other tracks, which he had done even before the ban.

We aren’t necessarily pushing Carney as the applicant who should get the slot-parlor license, but it would be good for the town, has easy access off the highway and is in a secluded area with no residents nearby. The two newest entries for the license haven’t said yet where they plan to operate, but it could be anywhere.

One thing that Carney has going against him is that the Wampanoag Indians would like one of the three state licenses to build a casino resort. They have struck a deal with Taunton, and we can’t imagine the new state casino commission allowing two of the four gambling operations to be in neighboring towns.

The Wampanoags face an uphill battle as they tangle with the federal government over their status and whether they can use land outside of their tribal area to build a casino.

So Carney will bide his time and work behind the scenes – as he always has – to build relationships with people who can help his business. The people of Raynham can attest to the theory that “what’s good for George Carney is good for Raynham.”

Is it good for the rest of the region – or the state? We can’t answer that. But having a casino or a slot-machine parlor in the area – preferably in a community that would welcome it – will provide hundreds of jobs and millions in local taxes at a time when there is economic uncertainty.


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