Citizens Against Casino Gaming

Citizens Against Casino Gaming June 27, 2013

Here's something I haven't heard a word about . . . Casino proponents regularly talk about the millions of dollars that the casino will pay TO the City of Springfield, but no one seems to be talking about how much the casino will SUCK OUT of the City. So I did some research . . . 1) MGM (and the State projection) claims it will generate just under $500,000,000 annually in gross gaming revenue. That does NOT include additional revenue from food, liquor, entertainment, shopping, etc. I'm guessing that those things will add at least another 10-15% in dollars sucked up by the casino. 2) With 4 gaming facilities in Massachusetts (3 casinos and a slot parlor), there will be a gambling facility located roughly every 30 miles or so throughout the State. 3) These casinos will NOT be destination casinos, they will be convenience casinos which means that they will pull the vast majority of their revenue from the local population (see Pennsylvania for a good example). With 4 gambling casinos/slot parlors in Massachusetts.; and with the 2 BIGGEST casinos in the entire U.S. located just 60 miles away in Connecticut; plus numerous casinos in NY state -- it's pretty much assured that at least 85% of MGM's revenue will come from the local population. 4) The majority of dollars spent at MGM will not be "new" or "created" dollars, it will be "DIVERTED" dollars -- money which is currently being spent at existing local businesses which will now be diverted to the casino. 5) There are 57,000 households in Springfield. There are 323,000 households in the 4 western counties (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire). There are a total of 532,000 households within 30 miles of Springfield (this includes Hartford and western Worcester county). 6) With a projected annual (gaming and other) revenue of over $500,000,000 and 532,000 households within 30 miles -- that means that the AVERAGE annual expenditure at MGM will be around $1,000 per household. 7) With 57,000 households in Springfield alone, that means that $57,000,000 which is currently spent at other businesses in Springfield will now be sucked up and diverted to the casino. 8) If you take the proximity effect into consideration (the fact that those who live and work closest to the casino typically attend the casino more frequently than those who live further away) -- and you assign an frequency of attendance increase of just 25% -- the dollars SUCKED OUT OF SPRINGFIELD RESIDENTS' POCKETS and diverted to the casino is an astounding $71,250,000.00 every single year. 9) Local businesses -- and their employees -- will definitely bear the brunt of that $71,250,000 annual diversion. John P. Epstein Holyoke, MA     Citizens Against Casino Gaming | 39 Oakland Street | Springfield | MA | 01108