http://www.masslive.com/
Comment section:
At a regional meeting of Surrounding Community representatives with Catherine Blue, MGC General Counsel held in Monson on Friday, November 8, 2013, at which there was no Masslive.com/Republican journalist present, the group was told by Ms. Blue that the MGC did not have to award a license to western Massachusetts (region 1.) The statute reads may license, "up to three class 1 casinos and 1 slots parlor."
...
In the event that MGM is found unsuitable - which has a measure of probability given that MGC has had to spend extraordinary amounts of money investigating MGM (compared to competitors) along with the baseline set with Caesars unsuitability and Atlantic City, NJ casting MGM out of the state due to it's partnership with foreign criminals.....it is not known at this juncture what the outcomes may be.
If there were any sense on Beacon Hill - which there is not as evidenced by the Speaker's own district kicking his Suffolk Downs patronage bill in the teeth, the state would have authorized at most 1 casino in a market that was already tanking and saturated. The economic feasibility of a profit to the state and taxpayers is nil at this juncture. Predatory gambling takes more wealth and incurs more costs than it delivers or mitigates.
Who gets the 9% horse-racing welfare benefit in the casino law now that the ponies are going to pasture? Maybe the brain-trust could find something more critical to fund than an archaic industry.......like wounded Veterans, sick children, elderly in need
Holyoke anti-casino residents glad voters rejected non-binding gaming question but still cautious
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on November 09, 2013
HOLYOKE -- Some of the dice tumbled right, but not all of it, so anti-casino residents are urging caution.
The good news from the perspective of Citizens for a Better Holyoke was that voters here said no on Tuesday to a non-binding question on the ballot that asked, “Should the city of Holyoke have a resort style gaming casino?”
They voted no by 61 percent to 39 percent, or 5,645 votes to 3,536 votes.
Also, Mayor Alex B. Morse was re-elected to a second term in Tuesday's election. Morse's opposition to a casino in Holyoke means he would not negotiate a host-city agreement with a casino developer, which under state law is necessary for a gaming plan to proceed in a community.
"With yesterday's election, Holyoke voters made it absolutely clear that they did not want a casino in Holyoke's future," John Epstein of Citizens for a Better Holyoke said in an email Wednesday.
But Holyoke voters twice said "yes" to nonbinding questions welcoming a casino, in 2002 and 1995.
The caution lies in what happened in Palmer and West Springfield and what could transpire in Springfield, Epstein said.
Under a November 2011 law, licenses will be issued for up to three casino resorts in the state, including one in Western Massachusetts.
Palmer voters stunned some people Tuesday by voting against Mohegan Sun's $1 billion casino resort proposal that had been pitched there since 2007. The plan failed with 2,657 casting no votes and 2,564 voting yes, and Mohegan is seeking a recount.
West Springfield voters voted down a referendum regarding Hard Rock Casino's proposal for that city Sept. 10.
Springfield voters approved the host community agreement between the city and MGM Resorts International for a gaming resort there on July 16.
What concerns anti-casino residents here is if MGM fails the state Gaming Commission background check and is rejected. That would leave Western Massachusetts without a suitable casino company to grant a license, and that would reopen the region to casino plans, Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen P. Crosby told The Republican Oct. 25.
“In the unlikely event that no Western Mass. applicant made it to the commission’s final application phase, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would start the process over again in Western Massachusetts," Crosby said.
That means, said Epstein, "While we can celebrate our victories today, we will need to remain vigilant in the future."
Michael Mathis, MGM vice president of global gaming development, said Wednesday the company was confident about its casino plan.
MGM’s suitability hearing has not been scheduled yet, but is likely to happen by the end of this month, Gaming Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said.
http://www.masslive.com/
Comment section:
At a regional meeting of Surrounding Community representatives with Catherine Blue, MGC General Counsel held in Monson on Friday, November 8, 2013, at which there was no Masslive.com/Republican journalist present, the group was told by Ms. Blue that the MGC did not have to award a license to western Massachusetts (region 1.) The statute reads may license, "up to three class 1 casinos and 1 slots parlor."
...
In the event that MGM is found unsuitable - which has a measure of probability given that MGC has had to spend extraordinary amounts of money investigating MGM (compared to competitors) along with the baseline set with Caesars unsuitability and Atlantic City, NJ casting MGM out of the state due to it's partnership with foreign criminals.....it is not known at this juncture what the outcomes may be.
If there were any sense on Beacon Hill - which there is not as evidenced by the Speaker's own district kicking his Suffolk Downs patronage bill in the teeth, the state would have authorized at most 1 casino in a market that was already tanking and saturated. The economic feasibility of a profit to the state and taxpayers is nil at this juncture. Predatory gambling takes more wealth and incurs more costs than it delivers or mitigates.
Who gets the 9% horse-racing welfare benefit in the casino law now that the ponies are going to pasture? Maybe the brain-trust could find something more critical to fund than an archaic industry.......like wounded Veterans, sick children, elderly in need
Comment section:
At a regional meeting of Surrounding Community representatives with Catherine Blue, MGC General Counsel held in Monson on Friday, November 8, 2013, at which there was no Masslive.com/Republican journalist present, the group was told by Ms. Blue that the MGC did not have to award a license to western Massachusetts (region 1.) The statute reads may license, "up to three class 1 casinos and 1 slots parlor."
...
In the event that MGM is found unsuitable - which has a measure of probability given that MGC has had to spend extraordinary amounts of money investigating MGM (compared to competitors) along with the baseline set with Caesars unsuitability and Atlantic City, NJ casting MGM out of the state due to it's partnership with foreign criminals.....it is not known at this juncture what the outcomes may be.
If there were any sense on Beacon Hill - which there is not as evidenced by the Speaker's own district kicking his Suffolk Downs patronage bill in the teeth, the state would have authorized at most 1 casino in a market that was already tanking and saturated. The economic feasibility of a profit to the state and taxpayers is nil at this juncture. Predatory gambling takes more wealth and incurs more costs than it delivers or mitigates.
Who gets the 9% horse-racing welfare benefit in the casino law now that the ponies are going to pasture? Maybe the brain-trust could find something more critical to fund than an archaic industry.......like wounded Veterans, sick children, elderly in need
Holyoke anti-casino residents glad voters rejected non-binding gaming question but still cautious
By
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 09, 2013
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 09, 2013
HOLYOKE -- Some of the dice tumbled right, but not all of it, so anti-casino residents are urging caution.
The good news from the perspective of Citizens for a Better Holyoke was that voters here said no on Tuesday to a non-binding question on the ballot that asked, “Should the city of Holyoke have a resort style gaming casino?”
They voted no by 61 percent to 39 percent, or 5,645 votes to 3,536 votes.
Also, Mayor Alex B. Morse was re-elected to a second term in Tuesday's election. Morse's opposition to a casino in Holyoke means he would not negotiate a host-city agreement with a casino developer, which under state law is necessary for a gaming plan to proceed in a community.
"With yesterday's election, Holyoke voters made it absolutely clear that they did not want a casino in Holyoke's future," John Epstein of Citizens for a Better Holyoke said in an email Wednesday.
But Holyoke voters twice said "yes" to nonbinding questions welcoming a casino, in 2002 and 1995.
The caution lies in what happened in Palmer and West Springfield and what could transpire in Springfield, Epstein said.
Under a November 2011 law, licenses will be issued for up to three casino resorts in the state, including one in Western Massachusetts.
Palmer voters stunned some people Tuesday by voting against Mohegan Sun's $1 billion casino resort proposal that had been pitched there since 2007. The plan failed with 2,657 casting no votes and 2,564 voting yes, and Mohegan is seeking a recount.
West Springfield voters voted down a referendum regarding Hard Rock Casino's proposal for that city Sept. 10.
Springfield voters approved the host community agreement between the city and MGM Resorts International for a gaming resort there on July 16.
What concerns anti-casino residents here is if MGM fails the state Gaming Commission background check and is rejected. That would leave Western Massachusetts without a suitable casino company to grant a license, and that would reopen the region to casino plans, Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen P. Crosby told The Republican Oct. 25.
“In the unlikely event that no Western Mass. applicant made it to the commission’s final application phase, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would start the process over again in Western Massachusetts," Crosby said.
That means, said Epstein, "While we can celebrate our victories today, we will need to remain vigilant in the future."
Michael Mathis, MGM vice president of global gaming development, said Wednesday the company was confident about its casino plan.
MGM’s suitability hearing has not been scheduled yet, but is likely to happen by the end of this month, Gaming Commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said.
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