Beacon Hill made a mockery of the democratic process -- Sorry, Folks! This was a Bi-Partisan Mockery!
Hearing? Nothing of the sort! Debate? Never Happened!
Anyone...Absolutely Anyone connected with this Aberration should be embarrassed.
Maybe you weren't paying attention, but some of us were, including my friend, Gladys who explained this Beacon Hill JOKE here:
Six Degrees of Suffolk Downs
More than a year ago, The Baffling Raffle conducted by Plainridge in violation of any vague interpretation of the Massachusetts Statute was questioned.
The Attorney General's Office accompanied by the Plainville Police Department swooped in, collected boxes of evidence........then DEAFENING SILENCE. The Baffling Raffle was conducted ACROSS STATE LINES, for which the FBI may or may not have been involved.
The political hacks in the Gambling Commission were put on notice, shuffled emails and brushed aside responsibility.
The BAFFLING RAFFLE was among the most BIZARRE -- it raffled opportunities to bet on the Kentucky Derby. Huh?
A Plainville kids' organization forced kids to purchase the BAFFLING RAFFLE TICKETS when they participated in sports.....apparently no one questioned beyond schmoozing.
There's much else about Attorney General Martha Coakley's failure to act, but doesn't anyone think it odd that former Plainridge Face suddenly develops health issues and rather than merely step aside also divest any financial interest? Will he also FALL ON HIS SWORD for the BAFFLING RAFFLE DEBACLE?
Plainville, harness track reach slots deal
PLAINVILLE, Mass. (AP) — Plainville officials and the owners of the Plainridge Racecourse have reached an agreement that will pay the town more than $4 million in the first year if the harness track wins the state’s sole slots parlor license.
The town Board of Selectmen approved the agreement 3-0 on Monday. The agreement will be put to a town-wide referendum in September. The state gambling commission must also approve of any gambling facility.
‘‘This process took time and was not easy but we see this agreement as a solid and fair product as a result,’’ Plainridge President John Grogan said in a statement.
Board members Rob Rose and Robert Fennessy called it the most important vote they would ever take.
The agreement will pay the town about $2.7 million in fees [OVER 5 YEARS OR $560,000 PER YEAR] on top of $1.5 million in property taxes if the harness track wins the license.
Plainridge has agreed to pay $2.7 million in host community fees for the first five years in which the slots are fully operational. Over the following five years, the fee would be based on 1.5 percent of gross gambling revenue and would jump to 2 percent starting in year 11.
The track will pay another $1.5 million in real estate and personal property taxes on the $125 million facility that could house up to 1,250 slot machines.
Plainridge is one of four companies seeking the only slots parlor allowed under the state’s 2011 gambling law.
Raynham Park LLC wants to build at the 125-acre site of the Raynham Park simulcast facility and former dog track; Maryland-based Cordish Cos., which is now looking at Leominster following failed efforts to get the ball rolling in Boxborough and Salisbury; and Rush Street Gaming, which is searching for a site after efforts to build a slots parlor in Worcester fell through.
Plainridge Racecourse reaches deal with Plainville for slots parlor; deal needs voter approval
Under the agreement negotiated by the track, Plainridge would guarantee the town $2.8 million a year during the first five years of operations, [THAT'S $560,000 PER YEAR] Plainridge said. Over the following five years, the agreement calls for a payment to the town of 1.5 percent of gross gambling revenue, which increases to 2 percent after 10 years of operation.
‘This process took time and was not easy, but we see this agreement as a solid and fair product as a result.’
Town negotiators and Plainridge officials have agreed on projections of approximately $200 million in revenue in the first year. The agreement also calls for Plainridge to pay commercial property taxes guaranteed to be $1.5 million in the first year, growing by 2.5 percent annually.
One of the track’s competitors for the license, The Cordish Cos. of Maryland, is pitching a slot parlor in Leominster, near the junction of Route 2 and Interstate 190 in the north central Massachusetts community, a company official confirmed Monday.
Cordish, a developer of Hard Rock casinos in Florida and the Maryland Live! Casino outside Baltimore, was scheduled to brief Leominster officials Monday evening on plans for the $200 million project, said Joe Weinberg, Cordish managing partner.
Cordish has long been interested in the northern half of the state and has unsuccessfully proposed a slot parlor in Boxborough and in Salisbury. Cordish prefers a northern location in part to be far from resort casino projects planned for Greater Boston and a tribal casino proposal in Taunton.
The stakes are rising for Cordish to find a community to embrace its plans. To meet deadlines set by the state gambling commission, Cordish needs to strike a deal with a host community in the next several weeks.
A Cordish project in Leominster would include a performance venue, restaurants, and other amenities, said Weinberg.
The other applicants for the slots license are Raynham Park, which has a deal with Raynham officials, and Rush Street Gaming, which has not announced a new site after failing to strike a deal with Worcester officials.
Wynn Resorts, proposing a resort casino in Everett, and MGM, which wants to build a gambling resort in Springfield, have completed their negotiations with those communities.
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