Massachusetts residents should be proud of what these communities have accomplished and what will be accomplished when REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL passes.
Gambling foes ride wave of momentum
"Sal obviously has a role, but we've got a number of ideas that we put on the table to create jobs and to generate revenue. If those aren't the best ideas, then it's incumbent on the Legislature to tell us what better ideas there are. Just saying no is no good."
Gov. Deval Patrick, 2007, talking about House Speaker Sal DiMasi's opposition to his casino bill.
Impact statement available
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement, a step in the process toward a $500 million Taunton casino for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, is now available for view in libraries and online. The report, which is hundreds of pages, was released last week. The public comment period through Jan. 17 also includes two public hearings - one at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at Mashpee High School and a second at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at Taunton High School.
The tribe is proposing to have 140 acres in Mashpee taken into federal trust for housing and government offices, which faces little-to-no scrutiny in the report. The 155 acres in an East Taunton industrial park proposed for a casino, hotels and a water park make up the bulk of the report.
The report offers three possible scenarios in Taunton, based on sizes of the casino development. It also outlines proposed mitigation by the tribe, including road improvements, sewer and water mains.
There are no rare or endangered species identified on the Taunton land, a factor that can sometimes be a stumbling block. Some parcels are identified as having possible historic significance. Those could require review by historic preservation officers, according to the report.
At full build-out, the tribe casino is expected to generate 3,500 full- and part-time jobs, which would reduce the region's unemployment rate by 0.5 percent, according to the report. The casino complex is expected to lure 5.3 million visitors a year. The full report is available at tribal council headquarters, Mashpee Library and Taunton Library, as well as online at http://mwteis.com.
GEORGE BRENNAN
"This is not the centerpiece of our growth strategy or economic future by any means. This is an entertainment option. And there will be some jobs that come with it, I'm certain, with the facilities that communities decide they want."
Gov. Deval Patrick, November 2013 on WGBH radio about the growing opposition to casinos in Massachusetts.
The contrast in those two statements by Gov. Deval Patrick is striking to former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, probably the highest-profile casino critic in the Bay State.
Harshbarger remembers it was Patrick, carrying the political clout of tremendous popularity after his first election, who, in 2007, introduced the idea of building three casinos, projected to bring $2 billion in revenue and thousands of jobs.
By 2011, when the Expanded Gaming Act finally passed, the projected revenue was down as low as $1.2 billion, but the enthusiasm in state government, including the Patrick administration, never wavered.
Fast forward two years later and the state's once-robust competition for casino licenses is now better described as an endurance test, with a gantlet of referendum votes and scrutiny by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
"I think we are 50-50 chance toward no one left standing, pressing the reset button and starting over," Clyde Barrow, a casino expert at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth's Center for Policy Analysis, said Friday.
In Western Massachusetts, which once had the largest number of casino developers seeking a license, there is only one developer left — and MGM has yet to be found suitable by the gaming commission.
In the Greater Boston region, known as Region A, all three of the proposed projects have faced hiccups.
On Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly rejected Foxwoods' plans to build a casino in Milford. That deal is dead.
A proposal by Suffolk Downs to build a casino is on life support. Voters in East Boston rejected the idea, which opponents say should have killed it, although Revere voters supported it. Developers are now trying to shift the project into Revere, though on Thursday, the gaming commission punted on making a decision over whether that can happen.
Steve Wynn's proposals for Everett still must pass a commission background check — no slam dunk.
Suffolk Downs dumped Caesars Entertainment when the background check revealed a relationship with a hotel company that has alleged ties with Russian mobsters. [in addition to massive debt, federal grand jury investigations into money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations]
"It's going to depend on what happens with MGM and Wynn suitability hearings," Barrow said.
[Wynn is being investigated for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations - bribing foreign officials. MGM has ties to Pansy Ho and Asian organized crime, was asked in New Jersey to sever ties and instead, left New Jersey.]
"Given the standard that was set by the gaming commission with Caesars, there are major red flags with both of them."
In Southeastern Massachusetts, known as Region C, only one commercial company, KG Urban Enterprises, has ponied up the $400,000 to become an applicant, though the gaming commission has said it will allow losers in other parts of the state to apply if they can find willing land owners.
And now, the waters are muddied in Southeastern Massachusetts by the prospect of one, possibly two Indian casinos.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has a compact with Patrick that is now awaiting approval by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. The tribe is also seeking federal approval to have its land taken into trust, a complicated and time-consuming process filled with potential legal pitfalls. Meanwhile, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) threw the gambling industry a curveball, saying it might build a Martha's Vineyard casino on land the National Indian Gaming Commission says is eligible.
"We have come a long way from 2007 when the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe first came to (our) community and said, 'We are coming, and there is nothing you can do to stop us,'" said Allin Frawley, a selectman in Middleboro where the Mashpee tribe once had a deal to build a $1 billion casino. The tribe walked away amid a leadership scandal and a downturn in the economy.
"I personally find the votes against these proposed casinos by host communities extremely validating," Frawley said. "I sincerely hope the residents of Massachusetts do get the opportunity to vote on expanded gaming next November, and judging by the recent community votes, I look forward to the results."
Casino opponents filed 90,000 signatures for the ballot question this week. They are currently under review, John Ribeiro, chairman of the committee to Repeal the Casino Deal, said Friday. The committee needs 70,000 to be certified for the November ballot.
"We've come a long way," Harshbarger said. "I'm pleased that these citizen efforts in these communities have been so successful. It's a little `not in my backyard,' but the more people know, the more facts gathered, the less they accept the promises being offered."
It's a boost of momentum not felt by casino opponents in recent years.
But "it's still David versus Goliath," Harshbarger said.
In most cases, with the exception of Palmer which has a recount Tuesday, the referendums that that went against gaming weren't close, despite the opponents being significantly outspent. In Milford on Tuesday, a proposal backed by Foxwoods failed by a vote of 6,361-3,480, or 64 percent to 35 percent, according to the Associated Press.
Barrow said statewide polls, including the most recent one released last week by Western New England College, show that a majority of Bay State residents want casinos. It's when they're close to home that the support wanes.
The problem isn't legislators or Patrick overestimating the appetite for casinos but rather developers targeting the wrong cities and towns, Barrow said. He pointed to the gaffe made by Steve Wynn to initially seek a casino in Foxboro.
"I wonder every day why isn't there more going on in New Bedford, Fall River or Salisbury," Barrow said. There is a common theme in the places like Springfield, Everett and Taunton where voter support has been high.
"The theme is distressed urban areas," Barrow said.
Southeastern Massachusetts has had strong casino support in past polls done by UMass-Dartmouth, he said.
"It's important to not just look at overall statewide support, but look at those pockets where support is the strongest," he said. "It's always been unevenly distributed."
Only the lone slot parlor license still has active competition. Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville and Raynham Park in Raynham both won approval from voters. Both already offer gambling on racing. They are competing against Cordish Gaming, which is seeking the license in Leominister. The commission expects to award that license next month.
With a ballot question likely, casinos could become an issue in the upcoming governor's race, Peter Ubertaccio, a political professor at Stonehill College, said. He has hosted all of the announced candidates at the school's Martin Institute for Law and Society and none has brought up casinos without prompting, he said.
"We're in a different place and I don't think candidates will be enthusiastic supporters of casinos," he said.
To Harshbarger and other opponents of expanded gambling in Massachusetts, the rejection of the larger-scale casinos by communities represents hope.
"My common cause belief is that people trump money," Harshbarger said. "When they see it and learn about experiences in other states and impacts that can happen, that really starts to cut into casino support."
Barrow said there's no question opponents have some momentum coming off recent wins. "Whether that translates into a victory statewide, I don't think so," he said.
Harshbarger and Ribeiro are ready to take their chances. "We've shown that when people have the facts, they reject casinos outright," Ribeiro said. "When we have the discussion statewide, we'll find the same thing statewide."
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