GET THE FACTS HERE:
REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL
A new poll shows that a majority of voters would favor keeping the state's expanded casino gambling law in place, although the margin is too close to be a safe bet.
The poll of 400 registered voters, conducted by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis, indicates that 46 percent would vote for keeping the casino law in place and 41 percent would vote to repeal the law, which allows the licensing of up to three casinos and a slot parlor in the Bay State. That's a slim margin given that 13 percent refused to respond or were undecided on the question.
The poll has a 4.9 percent plus or minus margin of error.
It comes less than a week after the state Supreme Judicial Court cleared the way for a casino repeal question to go on the Nov. 4 ballot.
"It shows that the referendum is going to be close and hotly contested," Clyde Barrow, director of the center that conducted the poll, said Monday.
Casino opponents, riding the wave of the court decision, are buoyed by the poll results. "All the polls show support for casinos across the state has eroded over time," John Ribeiro, president of Repeal the Casino Deal, said Monday.
The poll results changed based on gender, with 45 percent of men saying they would vote to repeal the casino law compared with 37 percent of women.
"That is a surprise. We've never seen that in any poll we've ever done," Barrow said. "Men have been consistently stronger supporters for expanding gaming over the past decade."
The poll targeted voters in the counties that make up Region A, where two developers are competing to locate casinos near Boston. Results overwhelming favored a Mohegan Sun casino planned at Suffolk Downs in Revere over the Wynn Resorts proposal in Everett. Some 48 percent favor the Mohegan Sun proposal, while just 21 percent said they would support the Wynn casino.
"I think it shows a lot of these negative stories have had impact on people's perceptions of the project," Barrow said.
Results do not reflect the state as a whole. Only voters in and around Boston were targeted in this poll.
Ribeiro said he was confident statewide polls would mirror the results in Region A. "People are learning the truth about the industry," he said. "This is what you get when you allow casinos. You get the shady characters. You get shady land deals. You get conflicted commissioners. You get voters disenfranchised."
There could also be a public perception that Wynn, which owns casinos in Las Vegas and Macau, is an outsider, while Mohegan Sun owns an Indian casino nearby in Connecticut and is considered local, Barrow said.
On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will consider a request by the city of Boston to delay awarding a license to Wynn or Mohegan Sun until after the referendum vote.
The commission is seeking public comment on the city's request.
Barrow said it would be a mistake to delay the Boston vote. "I think making that decision would fuel a 'no' vote," he said.
Ribeiro said the repeal effort has taken no position on whether the licensing process should be delayed. "My personal feeling is I'd like them to continue to do everything they're doing," he said. "It really shows the sausage-making. The more people learn about this and the more they see what expanded gambling means, the more they dislike it."
The commission has taken no position on the referendum and to date has said that it can balance the ongoing license process with the pending vote.
Barrow went a step further, saying the commission should also license a casino in Southeastern Massachusetts, known as Region C, before the election.
"I think it would be important for people to know what they're voting on, rather than the abstract," Barrow said. If the commission issues a conditional license, voters would know where the casinos would be located — Everett, Revere, Taunton, New Bedford or Fall River, he said. "They would be voting on something specific, and that changes the dynamic of the vote."
Last week, the commission set a March 27 deadline to issue a Region C license, after all of the potential applicants said they supported an extension. Complicating matters in Southeastern Massachusetts is the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's ongoing federal bid to site an Indian casino in Taunton.
The commission has awarded the lone slot parlor to Plainridge Racecourse and that project is underway. A casino license also has been awarded to MGM Resorts in Springfield, although the commission has agreed not to collect the $85 million licensing fee until after the outcome of the election is known.
Follow George Brennan on Twitter: @gpb227.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment