that the only 'solution' for the inexplicable shortfalls will be FURTHER EXPANSION ...like maybe SLOT MACHINES in convenience stores, SLOT BARNS in their communities....Fa La La La!
Just like every other state.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Survey: Mass. Voters Support Casinos Outside Of Their Communities
Casinos remain popular as a concept in Massachusetts, just so long as they are located in someone else's community, according to the latest telephone survey from the Western New England University Polling Institute.
The statewide survey of 477 adults, conducted March 31 through April 7, found that 59 percent of adults said they support establishing casinos in Massachusetts, while 34 percent were opposed and seven percent were either undecided or declined to answer the question. The margin of sampling error for the survey was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Still, a many respondents took a "not in my backyard" approach to the issue, with 55 percent saying they were opposed to having a casino in their community and 42 percent saying they supported having a casino in their community. Three percent were undecided or declined to answer the question.
After cross-tabulating responses to the two questions - whether to support casinos and whether to support one in the local community - the Polling Institute found that 41 percent of adults support both establishing casinos and having one in their community; 34 percent oppose allowing casinos in the state and also oppose locating one in their town; 18 percent endorse having casinos in Massachusetts, but do not want one in their community. Another three percent said they do not know or declined to give an answer regarding casinos in the state, but they said they do not want to have a casino near where they live.
The results were almost identical to the institute's previous survey on the issue, conducted in November 2013. In that survey of 517 adults, 61 percent supported establishing casinos in the state, while 33 percent were opposed. When asked whether they support or oppose having a casino in their community, 55 percent of adults in the November 2013 survey said they oppose the idea, while 42 percent said they support a casino in their community.
Tim Vercellotti, director of the Polling Institute and a professor of political science at Western New England University, noted that the latest results are roughly consistent with Polling Institute findings from surveys dating to 2009.
Under a state law adopted in 2011, the state will license up to three resort casinos, with one in each of three regions in the state, and one slots parlor. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently approved a license for a slots parlor at the Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville, and the commission has said it expects to award licenses for casinos in two of the three regions later this year. In the last 12 months, communities have voted to pass casino proposals in Everett, Springfield and Revere. Proposals have been defeated in East Boston, Milford, Palmer and West Springfield.
The survey also asked respondents how important the issue of casinos was to them personally.
Eighteen percent of adults said very important, 41 percent said somewhat important, 30 percent said not very important and 11 percent said not at all important. Among registered voters, 20 percent said the issue was very important, 42 percent said somewhat important, 30 percent said not very important, and eight percent said not at all important.
Among registered voters who said the issue was very important, 57 percent opposed establishing casinos in the state, and only 40 percent supported the idea. Among those same voters, 62 percent opposed having a casino in their community, and only 37 percent supported the idea, compared with 54 percent and 42 percent respectively for the entire sample of registered voters.
For the entire sample, attitudes regarding casinos varied along the lines of partisanship, gender, age, education and income. Sixty-seven percent of Republican voters said they support establishing casinos in the state, compared with 63 percent of unenrolled voters and 52 percent of Democrats.
Men were more likely than women to support casinos by a margin of 64 percent to 54 percent.
Support was highest among respondents ages 18 to 39 at 63 percent, falling to 51 percent among those ages 65 and older. Sixty-eight percent of individuals with a high school diploma or less backed casinos, compared with 51 percent of college graduates. Fifty-five percent of respondents with annual household incomes of less than $35,000 supported casinos, while support in higher income categories ranged from 60 percent to 64 percent.
- See more at: http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/news159160.html#sthash.Z07c3MNr.6Pfbxo13.dpuf
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