The Prostitution of Beacon Hill

You know the bad joke?

The one where a guy says 'will you sleep with me for a million buck?'
Female says 'Of course.'
Man says 'Will you sleep with me for a quarter?'
Outraged female says 'What do you think I am?'
Man says 'We've already determined what you are. Now we're just dickering about the price.'

That bad joke comes to mind remembering the back room deals and phony Gambling hearings conducted by Beacon Hill. Excluding the public. Limiting the time opponents could speak.

Remembering Senator Stanley Rosenberg's grinning face "Trust me!" even as he profited from his Gambling investments....after frittering taxpayers' hard-earned dollars on Gambling Industry studies, telling Gambling Opponents they should pay for their own report...and Secretary Bialecki's inability to answer even the simplest questions as he, too, profited from Gambling investments....

Phony assurances 'We'll get it right!' knowing they were too busy crafting Krafty legislation that moved the lines on the map.

And the cherubic-faced Governor Slot Barns assurance 'Move Along! No Corruption here!'


So the bought and paid for media, too lazy to accurately report or research, led the charge for PREDATORY GAMBLING, never presenting the available facts, never reporting that an INDEPENDENT COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS was NEVER conducted, NEVER reporting the community degradation that accompanies SLOT BARNS by whatever phony name you call them.


The Boston Globe was one of the biggest cheerleaders, infrequently reporting anything negative about the enslavement of GAMBLING ADDICTION. Doing its best to ignore opponents.

Everyone it seems is circulating the article below as if it means something beyond the Prostitution of Beacon Hill.

The Gambling Industry spent ~ $60 MILLION in Pennsylvania to buy the votes to get legislation passed at midnight on the 4th of July.

The Gambling Industry spent ~ $50 MILLION in Ohio getting Industry crafted legislation passed after numerous attempts.

And in Florida and New York, they're spending far more stroking the egos of little men willing to behave like sheep.

Massachusetts sold itself CHEAP! Just like the Bad Joke!

If the purpose of government is the Common Good, how can Government Sponsored Addiction represent that goal?



Casinos industry spent millions lobbying in Mass.
Steve LeBlanc, Associated Press

When Beacon Hill lawmakers finally adopted a bill to legalize casino gambling, it wasn’t just a victory for would-be high rollers or Massachusetts’ cash-strapped cities and towns.

It was also a long-awaited — and pricey — win for a casino industry that had longed hoped for a toehold in the state.

To press its case at the Statehouse and win over wavering lawmakers, the industry hired a small army of lobbyists who, year after year, steadily made the argument for expanded gambling in Massachusetts.

In just the past five years, the tally for all that lobbying topped $11.4 million, according to a review of state lobbying records by The Associated Press.

Overall spending on lobbying steadily increased year after year as the pressure built to approve a bill.

In 2007, the total lobbying tab on the casino issue was nearly $1.3 million. By 2011, that grew to more than $3.1 million.

Many of the companies that lobbied hardest for the expanded gambling law are now actively pursuing the three casino licenses created by the legislation.

The company that easily spent the most on lobbying was Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, which runs the Suffolk Downs racetrack and is hoping to turn the East Boston facility into a destination casino.

From 2007 to 2011, the track spent more than $2.8 million on lobbying, according to the AP review.

Another big spender was the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which also is hoping to win one of the three casino licenses. During the past five years, the tribe spent nearly $850,000 on lobbying expenses.

The law gives federally recognized tribes like the Mashpee Wampanoags until July 31 to negotiate a gaming compact in the southeast part of the state.

There was plenty of out-of-state lobbying money flowing into Massachusetts.

Development Associates, LLC, a Las Vegas-based subsidiary of casino and hotel developer Steve Wynn, spent more than $863,000 on lobbying in just the past three years.

Wynn is hoping to win one of the licenses. He’s teamed with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to propose a casino in Foxborough.

Las Vegas Sands Corporation, another casino company, has spent nearly $473,000 on lobbying during the same time period.

Two other companies hoping to land casino licenses also doled out hefty sums on lobbying.

Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming Inc. spent nearly $197,000 on lobbying during the past five years while Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International, which is eyeing a casino for Brimfield, spent $60,000.

The money spent on lobbying went to a range of activities.

Of the $850,600 that Sterling Suffolk Racecourse spent on lobbying just in 2010, about half — or $426,960 — went to pay the salary of lobbyists including seven separate firms and two individuals.

The remaining money — about $423,640 — went to such items printing and public relations consulting to advertising, cellphone bills, bus rentals, hats and T-shirts and the creation of a website to support the casino push.

William Mulrow, chairman of Suffolk Downs Board of Directors, defended the lobbying push, saying the 77-year-old track wants to maintain its legacy “as the state’s premier gaming destination.’’

“Suffolk Downs continues to work with community groups, neighbors and others to answer questions and provide information on how a world-class resort casino here would create thousands of jobs, boost the local economy and invest in local transportation improvements,’’ Mulrow said in a statement.