Atlantic City is the poster child for Predatory Gambling.
Since Predatory Gambling was legalized in Atlantic City:
Poverty increased
Crime increased
School dropout rates increased
Homelessness increased
Local businesses were destroyed
Gone are the PROMISES that never materialized.
This is what we're copying? What magical wand makes us any different?
Casinos: Tribe has high hopes for Taunton site
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe will try to make the case this week that it is still the player to beat for a Southeastern Massachusetts casino.
Tonight, tribe leaders are scheduled to meet with the Taunton City Council to unveil tweaks to the design of a $500 million casino proposed for Liberty and Union Industrial Park.
Though he wouldn’t comment on specifics in advance, tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said Monday that the architectural designs include a “wow factor” that demonstrate the tribe’s culture.
The tribe will also update city leaders on ongoing efforts to deal with traffic concerns and clear hurdles in its federal application to have land taken into trust.
“We have real, tangible data to show work that’s been done,” Cromwell said. “We will prevail.”
On Wednesday morning, the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies will hold a much-anticipated hearing on the renegotiated compact reached between the tribe and Gov. Deval Patrick. The compact, which spells out how much the state can expect to receive from the tribal casino, has languished in committee since it was filed 45 days ago.
Under the terms of the deal, the tribe would pay the state a percentage of gross gambling revenues from zero to 21 percent based on the level of competition it faces. If there is no competition from a full-fledged casino in the region, the tribe would pay 17 percent to the state – 8 percent less than commercial casinos will pay.
The full House and Senate must approve the compact before it goes to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Legislators from the Cape and Islands are largely supportive of it.
“If we are going to have gaming in Southeastern Mass., I’m going to support the Wampanoag efforts to make sure it goes to them,” state Rep. Sarah Peake, D- Provincetown, said Monday.
Peake said she intends to testify at Wednesday’s hearing saying she doesn’t want to see the marketplace “diluted” by commercial competition.
Peake said she intends to testify at Wednesday’s hearing saying she doesn’t want to see the marketplace “diluted” by commercial competition.
Senate President Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, whose district includes a portion of the Upper Cape, said she also supports the compact.
“This compact is the result of many careful discussions between the administration and the Wampanoag Tribe,” Murray said. “It reflects the rights and interests of both the tribe and the commonwealth.”
Cromwell said he appreciates the ongoing support the tribe has received from the Cape and Islands delegation.
“We talk about cross pollination of travel and tourism. The Cape is an amazing jewel,” Cromwell said. “We want to showcase the Cape at our destination resort casino. We want people to take trips from there to the Cape. We want to be that gateway.”
State Rep. Robert Koczera, D-New Bedford, a member of the committee that will review the compact, said he doesn’t support its approval. The state should wait to reach an agreement with the tribe until after the tribe’s land-in-trust application is settled, he said.
“It would lock up the commonwealth amid great uncertainty,” Koczera said.
Koczera was a vocal supporter of a decision by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to open the region to commercial bidders.
On Thursday, the gaming commission is expected to outline the timetable to begin accepting nonrefundable $400,000 checks and the accompanying applications for potential bidders to undergo background checks for the Region C license, spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said in an email.
KG Urban Enterprises, a company with plans for a commercial casino on the New Bedford waterfront, has released a statement saying the company intends to be one of the bidders.
“Based on the competitive process laid out by the commission on April 18th, a process that will mirror the ones already under way in the other regions, we have every intention of applying for the commercial gaming license in the southeast,” Andrew Sterns, one of two principals of KG Urban, said.
KG Urban filed a federal lawsuit objecting to the exclusivity granted to the Mashpee Wampanoag in the state legislation.
Judge Nathaniel Gorton is now seeking arguments on whether that case is moot, according to an order filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Gorton is asking for written legal arguments on whether the commission’s decision to open up the region makes the case irrelevant.
The state and the commission have until May 27 to file the motion and KG Urban will have until June 10 to respond, according to the judge’s order.
KG Urban lawyers said during a status hearing last month that the gaming commission’s action would not change the company’s position that the original legislation violated the U.S. Constitution by giving the tribe what it called a “race-based, set aside.”
Cromwell said the tribe has moved beyond the gaming commission decision and is looking toward continuing to lead the charge to get shovels in the ground. He pointed out that the tribe has a host agreement with Taunton and an approved referendum in place.
“We’re light years ahead of everyone else,” he said.
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