Meetings & Information




*****************************
****************************************************
MUST READ:
GET THE FACTS!






Saturday, August 31, 2013

Playdate to Talk about the September 10th Vote

FROM: No Plainville Racino!




Playdate to Talk about the September 10th Vote

Join other concerned parents and caregivers in the Plainville area for a playdate to talk about the September 10th vote.

For more information:
http://wrentham.patch.com/groups/events/p/playdate-to-talk-about-the-september-10th-vote

Please share this widely.

Playdate to Talk about the September 10th Vote



Join other concerned parents and caregivers in the Plainville area for a playdate to talk about the September 10th vote.

The kids can play while the adults talk about
the upcoming vote on the expansion of gambling in our community. We’ll have healthy snacks for the kids and coffee for the adults. In case of rain, let’s meet at
the Plainville Library, 198 South Street. For more information, please contact
Tanya Perkins (tperk@me.com) or Erin Earnst (erinearnst@comcast.net).
http://wrentham.patch.com/groups/events/p/playdate-to-talk-about-the-september-10th-vote


Robert Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town, to speak at Sept. 8 Forum

Great book!

It's a 'MUST READ'!

Finally the author, Robert Steele is speaking where many of us can attend! Mark your calendars.




Robert Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town, to speak at Sept. 8 Forum
BREAKING NEWS: Former CT congressman Robert Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town," will be a guest speaker at our forum on Sunday, September 8th, 4-6pm at the Plainville Senior Center, 9 School Street, Plainville, MA..

The Book – The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town (Levellers Press). The Curse is a novel set against the explosion of casino gambling that hit Connecticut during the 1990s, when two Indian tribes built the world’s two biggest casinos in the southeastern corner of the state. WBZ’s Dan Rea calls the novel “powerful” and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro has described it as “compelling and timely…an epic story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed.”

Timeliness – The book comes at a time when Massachusetts is in the process of selecting sites for three major casinos and a slots parlor, increasing casino saturation is changing the dynamics of the casino industry, and casino revenues are falling in Connecticut and other Northeastern markets.

Author – Robert Steele is vice chairman of an international marketing agency and has been a director of numerous companies, including the American Stock Exchange. A graduate of Amherst College and Columbia University, he served in the CIA and Congress (2nd District, CT) and was a candidate for governor of Connecticut.

Book Availability – The book is available in softcover from Amazon and the publisher (www.levellerspress.com) and as an ebook from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Read more at http://www.rhsteele.com/

This is what lawmakers invited into Massachusetts.....



Massachusetts ‘GAMING’ Future

Associated Press - August 30, 2013 - Former W. Pa. cafeteria worker sentenced for theft

A former school cafeteria worker in western Pennsylvania has been sentenced to six months house arrest and three years' probation for her part in stealing nearly $94,000....


Court records show that 50-year-old Stacy Lee Shipley of Charleroi on Thursday paid $46,000 in restitution toward the $53,000 she owes the Charleroi school district.

Investigators say Shipley stole the money when students paid cash for lunches and then used it to gamble at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino.

Charleroi is about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Shipley allegedly shared the money with another former cafeteria worker, Shelia Ann Cook, who is scheduled for trial next month.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/state/pa/former-w-pa-cafeteria-worker-sentenced-for-theft/article_b1b48505-d41f-5c8d-9926-a9bdb7812754.html
See More

Friday, August 30, 2013

Money from slots has done nothing to improve horse racing


Here's some more goodness dispelling the myth that slots are the only way to save racing. In reality, all they do is enrich casino/track owners. Eventually, state governments get sick of subsidizing millionaire horse owners and track owners, and they begin to cut back on those subsidies.

NJ Gov. Chris Christie: “I am no longer going to permit millionaire horsemen to take money ... from the taxpayers of the state to fund their industry.”

Ontario Education Minister Laurel Broten: “We simply can’t afford to support ... horse racing subsidies. ... when the ... money could get better health care for our seniors and full-day kindergarten for our 4- and 5-year-olds.”

Share with your neighbors who would vote yes to save jobs at the track or keep horse racing going.
 
 
Money from slots has done nothing to improve horse racing
 
At a time when the horse racing business has suffered a serious decline, one segment of the sport is enjoying a bonanza. These are great times for horsemen in states where purses are subsidized by revenue from slot machines.

Owners and trainers at Parx — the former Philadelphia Park— must think that they have died and gone to heaven when they run a bottom-level $5,000 claimer in a race with a $25,000 purse — plus a bonus if the animal was bred in Pennsylvania. Horsemen at minor league tracks such as Charles Town (W. Va.), Presque Isle Downs (Pa.) and Zia Park (N.M.) regularly compete for big-league purses because of slot money.

These windfalls exist because many states, when they legalized slots, opted to install them in racetracks and decided to aid the sport by earmarking a certain percentage of revenues for purses and breeder awards. But what the state gives, the state can take away, and many are taking a fresh look at their largesse to the horse business:
●In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed cutting $72 million of subsidies to horse racing and breeding to pay for other agricultural projects.

●In Ontario, the provincial government has proposed ending all slots payments to the horse racing industry as of 2013.

●In Indiana, the state’s inspector general advocated slashing the subsidy for horse racing.

●In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie ended state support of racing and blasted leaders of the sport for “extorting the taxpayers for millions of dollars in subsidies to their industry.”

Horsemen have reacted with shock and outrage to such proposals, but they should have seen these haymakers coming. Many state governments are under severe financial pressure and are struggling to maintain basic services for their citizens. As politicians look for sources of revenue, they can’t ignore the millions of dollars now flowing into horse racing, and they can readily frame populist arguments that the money is being misallocated.

Christie said: “I am no longer going to permit millionaire horsemen to take money . . . from the taxpayers of the state to fund their industry.” In Ontario, Education Minister Laurel Broten sent out a news release declaring, “We simply can’t afford to support . . . horse racing subsidies. . . . when the . . . money could get better health care for our seniors and full-day kindergarten for our 4- and 5-year-olds.”

In most places, the racing/slot machine relationships developed along similar lines. In some cases, a racetrack couldn’t survive on its own merits, but it was such an important part of its community that the public supported legalizing slots to keep it alive. (This was the case at Charles Town.)
In others, proposals for legalized slots faced a lot of not-in-my-backyard opposition, and the perfect answer was to put the slots in an existing gambling facility — a racetrack. The track, of course, got a percentage of the profits for running the operation. The rationale for allotting money to purses and breeders’ awards (rather than, say, health care for seniors) was to revive the sport by improving the product and attracting more fans.
But every racing fan knows what happened instead. When slots were legalized, the machines proved to be so lucrative many track owners lost interest in the sport and viewed it as a nuisance. They made no effort to improve the game or attract new fans; slot players are more profitable customers.
The day-to-day racing at tracks such as Philadelphia Park and Delaware Park is just about as dreary as it was before slots inflated the purses. One track that has made the most of slot money is Woodbine, in Toronto, which offers some of the best daily cards on the continent and uses its resources to promote the sport and to create new horseplayers. But Woodbine is a rarity.
More often, slot money props up tracks that have virtually no fan base and couldn’t exist on their own merits. This is true of most harness and dog tracks, and some thoroughbred operations — such as Presque Isle Downs. Two previous racetracks in Erie, Pa., went broke from lack of support. Presque Isle was built when slots were legalized in the state, and it had to be a racetrack to get the machines, but its racing business is as pitiful as that of its predecessors. The track’s average attendance last season was 705, and those customers bet an average of $35,000 per day on the live product. Yet Presque Isle pays huge purses — more than $200,000 a day.
While the money has benefited owners, trainers and Pennsylvania breeders, it has done nothing to popularize or improve horse racing. On the contrary, it has hurt the sport in some ways. At a time when almost every track is suffering from a shortage of thoroughbreds, the horses who go to Erie could be running at viable tracks, helping them to offer a better product, instead of racing in a place where almost nobody watches them.
Too many people in the thoroughbred industry are content with the status quo. In the crowded mid-Atlantic region, racetracks should agree to pare down their schedules, offering fewer races with larger fields that fans want to bet. But horsemen habitually resist such cutbacks, and most tracks continue to lose fans.
However, the status quo is unsustainable because more and more politicians will be asking: Why should we subsidize a sport that so few people care about? Why should we help an industry that won’t help itself? And thoroughbred racing can offer no good responses to these questions.
For Andrew Beyer’s previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/beyer.

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-03-19/sports/35448728_1_slot-money-horsemen-purses

Milford Hospital Finally Wakes Up!

It's difficult to know who was snoozing, but ......

INCREASED TRAFFIC + FREE ALCOHOL + 24/7/365 OPERATIONS = MORE ACCIDENTS, MORE PUBLIC SAFETY CALLS, MORE HOSPITAL VISITS

Foxwoods actively recruited overseas to fill their LOW WAGE POSITIONS.

Those workers DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH, regardless of what Foxwoods promises.

What is Milford going to do with Non-English Speaking people during emergencies?


Milford hospital asks for casino money

852473 MA_MD_moore3.jpg

Allan Jung/for Wicked Local and Daily News

Frank Saba, CEO of Milford Regional Medical Center.



By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff
Posted Aug 28, 2013



Milford Regional Medical Center is now weighing in on the proposed Milford casino and asking for a substantial payout – totaling a little over $7 million – to cover a projected increase in emergency calls and other health services.

In a letter to town officials, Milford Regional CEO Frank Saba requested that hospital mitigation funding be considered in the host community agreement with Foxwoods, the proposed developer of a $1 billion, 660,000-square-foot resort-casino at the intersection of Interstate 495 and Rte. 16.
“We know that these requests are significant and carry a substantial cost but we do feel that this staffing and these programs would be very important to our hospital in providing the necessary care and services for the increase in patients that we expect with the arrival of a Casino,” Saba wrote.

Saba requested an upfront payment of $5 million toward the expansion of the hospital, a $55 million project proposed in 2011 that would grow the emergency room to accommodate up to 70,000 visits a year and would more than double the number of intensive care unit beds.

Additional funding was also requested to cover seven new employees at the hospital, including three nurses to cover increased emergency room volume and increased cases of substance/alcohol abuse, mental health cases and other health issues.

On top of funding for the current hospital site, Saba also proposed creating an on-site medical facility, with Foxwoods contracting the services out to Milford Regional. The on-site facility would serve employees and customers and include an urgent care clinic operating during the day and evening.

The on-site facility would include hiring 10 new employees at a total cost of nearly $2.5 million annually.

For this plan, Saba requested the casino commit to five years of funding “after which we would review these services and mutually discuss and agree upon future needs and plans.”

Saba reportedly told the town’s attorneys from Shefsky & Froelich that, based on his conversations with medical colleagues in Connecticut, he expects to see a 5 percent increase in emergency room visits with the casino.

He also said he was concerned about the possibility of the casino project increasing mental health problems in the town, as well, according to the attorneys.

The casino’s Chief Development Officer, David Nunes, said he did not want to comment on the specific hospital requests because the negotiations are still ongoing.

Host community agreements remain ongoing this week and selectmen are expected to meet again next Wednesday to discuss another draft.

Selectmen didn’t discuss the specifics of the hospital’s request on Monday, but Chairman William Buckley said he hopes to see some funding allocated for the medical center.

http://www.milforddailynews.com/topstories/x1868831799/Milford-hospital-asks-for-casino-money



$47 MILLION FINE for Sands Money Laundering

This is NOT the first time Sands has been involved in MONEY LAUNDERING.
New Jersey ignored it and renewed the SANDS' license with Steve Perskie as Chairman.
Hmmmm......

[Steve Wynn is also under investigation for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, yet welcomed into Massachusetts?]

Las Vegas Casino Settles in Money-Laundering Inquiry - NYTimes ...

www.nytimes.com/.../las-vegas-casino-settles-in-money-laundering-inquiry....
Las Vegas Casino Settles in Money-Laundering Inquiry. By MICHAEL LUO. Published: August 28, 2013. The Las Vegas Sands Corporation, the casino ...

Govt probes Las Vegas Sands Corp. on money laundering | Alternet

File picture shows Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation Sheldon Adelson at a press conference in Macau in April. The Justice Department has ...

Sands, U.S. Reach Money-Laundering Accord

Las Vegas Sands and U.S. prosecutors reached an agreement to resolve a money-laundering investigation.

http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-310436/

Sheldon Adelson’s Sands Casino to pay $47 million fine for failing to report deposits from alleged drug trafficker

The Sands failed to report that Chinese-Mexican businessman Zhenli Ye Gon, who is under investigation for drug trafficking, deposited more than $45 million into the Venetian casino in 2006 and 2007.

APRIL 5, 2013 FILE PHOTO

Julie Jacobson/AP

Las Vegas Sands Corp, which is owned by U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson, signed a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department on Monday, agreeing to pay $47.4 million in fines stemming from a money laundering investigation.

For business tycoon Sheldon Adelson it is the equivalent of salt in the wound.

After spending millions to try and thwart President Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012, Adelson’s
Las Vegas casino empire agreed this week to pay the U.S. government $47.4 million in fines to avoid criminal charges stemming from a money laundering investigation.

Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino, agreed to the settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday night.

RELATED: ISRAELI NEWSPAPERS 'RUINED' BY U.S. MOGUL’S FREE DAILY
For two years, the Justice Department gathered evidence showing that Chinese-Mexican businessman Zhenli Ye Gon had deposited $45 million in suspected drug money to the Venetian in 2006 and 2007 in a series of complex transactions designed to avoid detection.
Federal law requires that suspicious deposits be reported to U.S. authorities, but Ye Gon was the casino’s best customer, losing more than $90 million at the Venetian’s tables.

Chinese-born businessman Zhenli Ye Gon, who lost more than $90 million at Adelson's Venetian casino, deposited $45 million directly to the casino in 2006 and 2007 in transactions designed to avoid detection.

RICHARD DREW/AP

Chinese-born businessman Zhenli Ye Gon, who lost more than $90 million at Adelson's Venetian casino, deposited $45 million directly to the casino in 2006 and 2007 in transactions designed to avoid detection.


“For the first time, a casino has faced the very real possibility of a federal criminal case for failing to properly report suspicious funds received from a gambler,” U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr., who represents the Central District of California, said in a statement.

“This is also the first time a casino has agreed to return those funds to the government,” Birotte said.

“All companies, especially casinos, are now on notice that America’s anti-money laundering laws apply to all people and every corporation, even if that company risks losing its most profitable customer.”

In his statement, Birotte said that the Sands admitted “in hindsight that it failed to fully appreciate the suspicious nature of the information or lack thereof pertaining to Ye Gon.”

While the fine is significant, many investors had anticipated that the Sands would have to settle for an even larger amount. Adelson, who is the CEO and chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp., has a net worth of more than $20 billion.

The Sands is not out of the woods yet, however. The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are still conducting a separate investigation into whether the casino empire—which owns resorts in resorts in Macau, Singapore and Pennsylvania—may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sheldon-adelson-sands-casino-pay-47-million-fine-article-1.1439489#ixzz2dVLbqC7J

Sands agrees to settlement in Vegas money laundering deal

As the Florida Senate completes plans to embark on a statewide road show to discuss the future of gambling in Florida, one of the most active players in the quest to bring resort casinos to Florida -- Las Vegas Sands -- has withstood some rocky publicity this week.

According to the Wall Street Journal, and other news sources, the casino giant has agreed to pay more than $47 million and will accept U.S. Department of Justice's assertion that the company failed to report suspcicious financial activity by a customer who dealt only in cash, and who was later identified as a drug kingpin.

A Sands spokesman told the Wall Street Journal in its Wednesday papers that, "The company cooperated fully in the investigation, and that effort was recognized clearly by the government."

Under the agreement reviewed by the WSJ, Sands has agreed to refrain from using generic names on its customer accounts and must also conduct two years of reviews of its anti-money laundering policies and file periodic reports with the government.

The federal settlement is part of a two-year probe into possible money-laundering at the Sands, the newspaper reported. Investigators at the U.S. Treasury and Justice Department have been concerned that the practices may have enabled some of the casino's most lucrative customers to gamble using proceeds from illegal activities, federal officials said.

Sands officials also disclosed in its annual report in March that after an internal probe into its casino operations in Macau, the company probably violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.


Sheldon Adelson's Sands Targeted in Money Laundering ... - Forbes

www.forbes.com/.../sheldon-adelsons-sands-targeted-in-money-l...
Aug 4, 2012 - Las Vegas Sands targeted in federal money laundering investigation spells more bad news for Adelson and Romney.

10 DAYS TO THE PLAINVILLE SLOTS REFERENDUM!

10 DAYS TO THE PLAINVILLE SLOTS REFERENDUM!
Reason #10 to VOTE NO SLOTS: Unless Plainville votes NO on September 10th, we will be bound by a Host Community Agreement (HCA) that allows the developer to EXPAND the slot parlor without another town vote; expanding the number of slot machines and adding table games would already be approved for Plainridge if we don't defeat the referendum now.
The voters need to be fully aware of what we are voting on: according to the Host Community Agreement, we are voting to approve a full, unlimited slots racino. Should the state amend the law to allow table games — something that has already been discussed at early MA Gaming Commission meetings — Plainville residents will NOT have the chance to vote against more machines or table games.

The state will almost certainly authorize an expansion very shortly after the facility opens. The facility will not be able to compete effectively with Twin Rivers, Foxwoods, and Mohegan Sun casinos without table games. It's a trend that's happening all of the country.

Also, as the Commonwealth begins to rely on the increased tax revenue, it will see Plainridge as a place that has the capability to expand, thereby providing more revenue. There will be no thought given to what expansion will do to our town, nor will there be ANY way for the residents to fight it.

When you go to the polls on September 10th, keep in mind that the town is actually voting to authorize a full, unlimited racetrack casino with the soon-to-be-realized addition of tables. This is so much bigger than the 1,250 slot machine racino that is being sold to the town.

VOTE NO SLOTS on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th.
The polls are open 7am to 8pm.

COME TO OUR FORUM
Sunday, September 8th, 4pm at the Senior Center

Please get the word out to your neighbors and friends by sharing our Countdown of Reasons to VOTE NO.

To volunteer, or for more information, email info@noplainvilleracino.com.

Plainville: Ignoring Impacts

FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NO PLAINVILLE RACINO:



Below is a letter about what life is like in North Stonington, CT and Preston, CT since Foxwoods moved in. Considering that 1,250 slot machines might be the tip of the iceberg at Plainridge, Plainville and the surrounding towns should pay some attention to people who have already been through it:
Dear Holyoke City Councilors:
Below is a summary of two conversations my wife had with First Selectman Nick Mullane of North Stonington, CT, and First Selectman Bob Congdon of Preston, CT. Both towns border Foxwoods, and her conversations with them were very illuminating.
I am hopeful this information will encourage you to speak out publicly against having a casino in Springfield and West Springfield, and draft a resolution opposing both casinos.
Thank you for your time,
Ted Steger
Longmeadow, MA
P.S. I strongly encourage you to watch the video at http://www.nocasinospringfield.com
Casino Impacts
Traffic
-Traffic volume: In North Stonington, CT traffic on side roads through the town have tripled or quadrupled since the casino opened. This has lead to much wear and tear on the roads that must be more frequently repaired and maintained. Big expense to the town.
-In Preston, CT their roads went from accommodating 7,500 cars/day to 25,000 cars/day.
-North Stongington receives $880,000/year in mitigation aid from the state, and First Selectman Mullane says that it's not enough to cover the added expenses that have come to North Stonington since the casino opened. For anyone who perceives this to be "free" money, he added, "I'll give you all of it ($880,000/year) if you'll take Foxwoods."
-DUI: Both North Stonington and Preston have seen an increase in DUI accidents and other accidents since the opening of the casino. Roads in North Stonington are more windy, so there have been fewer fatalities, but in Preston they have seen more fatal accidents. The town of Ledyard, CT which hosts Foxwoods Casino has the highest rate of DUI accidents in the state of CT.
-Police/Fire/Ambulance: In Preston, CT they went from receiving 200 calls to the Fire Dept. per year to more than 1,000 calls per year. It has been very expensive to both communities to add police/fire/ambulance personnel to respond to increased need for services.
Declining Property Values
-Diminished Tax Base: The Town of North Stonington has seen a 10% decline in real estate value across the board. In Preston, CT any homes within .25 miles of traffic flow (not .25 miles from the actual casino, but the flow of traffic) to the casino saw a 25% decrease in home values.
-Mr. Mullane said it's important to consider this: "What's the cost of decreasing all of my town's real estate value by 10%?"
Municipal Resources
-Nick Mullane said, "Capacity demands on municipal functions are scary." He said everything from water pollution control to DPW is profoundly effected. Mr. Mullane said he would be happy to delve into greater detail if you decide to meet with him.
Schools
-Both First Selectmen said that Longmeadow will need increased security at all of our schools as the casino will bring people through our community who may/will pose a security risk.
-Selectmen Congdon and Mullane said that they have seen a shifting of demographics in their respective communities and warn that there is a good possibility that Longmeadow could see a shift in demographics as well, and that we will most likely be spending an increasing percentage of our school budget on ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programs as "many languages will be spoken in your schools."
Housing
-Both North Stonington and Preston are like Longmeadow in that that they are made up of single-family homes. They note, though, that they have seen an increase in two families living in one home and others in their community putting ten beds (or more) in the basements of their homes and doing something called "hot bedding" which according to Dictionary.com is "having a bed shared by two or more persons in shifts, each sleeping in it at, or for, a designated time and then vacating it for the next occupant."
-Longmeadow needs to be very vigilant about making sure we have zoning laws to protect against this and make sure that these laws are vigorously enforced.
Effects on Retail Establishments
-Selectmen Congdon and Mullane said that they had many shops and restaurants within their communities and within their neighboring communities close within the first few years of the casino's opening. Selectman Mullane said the first thing that will happen to restaurants is that they will lose their waiters and waitresses to the casino restaurants because there will be more people at the casino restaurants which will mean more in tips for them. Next, the restaurant owners will close up and move somewhere else far away from the casino. Restaurants and shops within 30 miles of the casino will be adversely impacted. Over time, the shops and restaurants at the casino will be the only shops and restaurants around. "Merchants ought to be crying," said Mr. Mullane.
Hidden Costs to the Town
-First Selectman Mullane said that there will be many increased accounting costs to Longmeadow as well. He said that towns near the casino undergo much more scrutiny and that anyone in our town who handles money (tax collector, bookkeepers etc.) will have to be watched very closely. He said that they are on their third tax collector because the previous two embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. Mullane warns that the general increase in scrutiny and forensic audits that must take place when fraud occurs are quite expensive, and it's just one of the many hidden costs that a community must contend with when a casino is located near their town.
Impact on Quality of Life
-Other areas that have opened casinos (most recently Pennsylvania) have seen increases in theft, public drunkenness, and underage gambling. First Selectman Mullane echoed this, saying that his town has had problems with underage gambling, and studies show that young people are more prone to addiction. With the technological savvy of today's kids, it's very likely that "bored" Longmeadow youth will create fake IDs to get into casinos.
-The increased incidence of theft has led Mr. Mullane to feel that he's always looking over his shoulder. He reported that there have been big increases in time, place, and opportunity crimes and that you can never let your guard down. He said that every time he pumps gas, he's nervous and looking around to make sure he's safe, which is a big change from what his town was like pre-casino.
-Mr. Mullane added that the casinos are always touting the entertainment aspects of their operation, but "this is not entertainment. This is a gambling hall and a bar." And, per the MA gaming legislation, the casinos will be serving free liquor from 8:00am-2:00am everyday. He closed by saying, "Casino operators aren't the most charitable bunch."

Agawam oppose a Hard Rock casino in West Springfield


Agawam oppose a Hard Rock casino in West Springfield


By Elysia Rodriguez
Published: Thursday, August 29, 2013

AGAWAM, Mass. (WWLP) - Strong opposition in Agawam is building against the proposed West Springfield Hard Rock casino to be built at the Big E fairgrounds.

Agawam City Councilor George Bizas told 22News the council plans to discuss a resolution at their next meeting formally opposing Hard Rock's proposal to build a casino in West Springfield.

It's a symbolic move, but the five sponsoring City Councilors hope it will send a message to West Springfield voters.

Thursday night 22News spoke with West Springfield Town Council Brian Griffin about this possible resolution.

Griffin told 22News he's surprised. “Agawam was always invited to the table to speak with us about any and all problems they have, and for the most part I think we've had great relationships with Agawam in this process.”

The resolution cites concerns about traffic, public safety and increased gambling addition problems.

Hard Rock's community agreement does provide money to neighboring communities. Agawam would be in line to get about 3.4 million dollars every six years.

How does anyone believe this is adequate?

http://www.wwlp.com/news/local/hampden/agawam-city-councilors-oppose-a-hard-rock-casino

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Increased CRIME invited into Massachusetts

Increased EMBEZZLEMENT crimes coming to Massachusetts ASAP!

Ahhhh.....we can't wait!

Bill Kearneyposted toGambling Action Group
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - August 28, 2013 - Father and son in Penn Hills accused of taking $100,000 from business to gamble at Rivers Casino

A Penn Hills father and son surrendered Wednesday morning on charges that they stole more than $100,000 from a local company to support the father's gambling habit.

Joseph Kocott Sr., 44, and Joseph Kocott Jr., 25, each face charges of theft by deception and conspiracy. Investigators with Allegheny County district attorney's office continue to trace the duo's steps and believe there might be more victims, spokesman Mike Manko said in a news release....


A detective with the DA's office wrote in a criminal complaint that Mr. Kocott Sr. approached a man named Brian Gray in June 2012, when Mr. Gray was working at Rivers Casino while operating a private consulting business called Graycomm.

Mr. Kocott Sr. told Mr. Gray he was running a company called Global Marketing Inc. and wondered whether Mr. Gray or one of his clients might want to purchase converter boxes from him, according to the complaint.

Shortly afterward, Mr. Gray and one of his clients, Frederico Sanchez Guevara, CEO of Legoocom in Santiago, Chile, agreed to buy 5,000 converter boxes from Mr. Kocott Sr.'s company for $189,870, according to the complaint.

Read more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-east/father-and-son-in-penn-hills-accused-of-taking-100000-from-business-to-gamble-at-rivers-casino-701050/
See More