Palmer Recount

Mohegan Sun recount on Tuesday in Palmer; supporters doubt outcome will change
By Lori Stabile, The RepublicanThe Republican
on November 24, 2013

PALMER - The long-awaited recount for the Mohegan Sun resort casino project will be held Tuesday at the Palmer Public Library after the proposal suffered a less than 100 vote loss at the polls earlier this month.

The billion-dollar project planned for Thorndike Street (Route 32) was defeated in a 2,657 to 2,564 vote. With more than 5,000 ballots to hand count, Town Clerk Susan Coache has said the recount could take up to five hours.

Mohegan representatives and supporters admit it is unlikely the recount will change the final outcome, which would dash the hopes of casino proponents who have long dreamed of seeing a gaming business atop the wooded hillside on Route 32 overlooking Massachusetts Turnpike exit 8.

“I expect the recount will show the voting machines were correct. I doubt the vote will change by more than a few votes. Generally the machines are pretty accurate,” Town Manager Charles T. Blanchard said recently.

In its pursuit of the recount, Mohegan cited problems with a precinct 2 voting machine at Converse Middle School and “possible irregularities in the balloting process that were observed on Election Day by poll watchers and voters.”

But it seems that Mohegan is already looking to the future, after it was revealed last week that it is one of several companies that have talked with Suffolk Downs about partnering with it on its Revere casino proposal.

Mohegan has fielded plenty of criticism over the last week regarding Suffolk Downs, as people have questioned whether it started talks before the Nov. 5 referendum in Palmer.
In a statement issued Friday, Mitchell G. Etess, Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority chief executive officer, said while they were “incredibly disappointed” by the referendum outcome, he said the town “is sharply divided on the issue of casino gaming” and “the recount will not change this fact.”
Blanchard said there is “no question” in his mind that Mohegan was totally committed to Palmer.

Blanchard said Mohegan had done a lot of engineering work at the site so it could hit the ground running if it received the one Western Massachusetts gaming license, and had been in ongoing talks about water use for the project.

“When you look at the money they spent, in my view, they were certainly committed to Palmer,” Blanchard said.

Talk about Mohegan opening a casino in town first surfaced in 2007, when Northeast Realty revealed it had an exclusive agreement with the Connecticut-based company for a resort casino on its 152-acre site across from the turnpike interchange. Two years later, Mohegan opened a downtown office, and then casino gaming was legalized in 2011, touching off the battle for the one Western Massachusetts casino license.

MGM Resorts International in Springfield already passed its project at the polls, but it remains to be seen if it clears its background check with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission before final casino applications are due on Dec. 31.

On Tuesday morning, the Palmer ballots, which have been under lock and key, will be taken from the Town Building by police officers to the library. There, four tables will be set up in the community room for the counting. Two police officers have been hired to work the recount.

Joan M. Majka, assistant to the town clerk, said there will be 12 people working on the recount, from runners and counters to recorders. There also will be interested observers, from Mohegan Sun, and anti-casino side, if they want to attend.

Mohegan representatives have criticized the recount date, and have said they wanted it to be held sooner, and that holding it three weeks after the election “was inconsistent with the timetable established by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission” for meeting the final casino application deadline.

The recount will begin at 9 a.m.

Mohegan also said last week that it still wants to explore non-gaming development at the Palmer site.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/mohegan_sun_recount_on_tuesday.html