RTCD goes to Springfield

THE DECK IS STACKED AGAINST THE COMMONWEALTH

Good morning and happy Friday! As you may have seen, we kicked off our casino repeal Western Massachusetts campaign in Springfield this week with a productive and invigorating mix of grassroots organizing and media meetings and interviews. The Springfield event was our first official organizing meeting since securing a spot on the ballot with our historic Supreme Judicial Court victory just three weeks ago. We chose Springfield for our kickoff knowing that though it is a key city for our campaign. Springfield is a struggling gateway community that is the hub of the region. And it is the epicenter of this battle because Springfield can do better than casinos – we know that, the people of Western Massachusetts know that. Click on the links below to see some of the media we earned in Western Massachusetts this week and make sure to share with your friends and family. The Republican: Activists Lay Out Their Case for Repealing Casino Law WAMC: Anti-casino Activists Launch Referendum Campaign CBS 3’s One-on-One interview with John Ribeiro WGGB: Anti-Casino Group Launches Campaign to Support Ballot Question We want better than casinos for communities like Springfield and we’re in this together, as a statewide group, to ensure we don’t turn Springfield into Detroit or Worcester into Atlantic City. Casinos are losing jobs, losing revenue and investors now see the industry’s outlook as “negative.” Let’s not double down on a bad idea. We need every bit of support we can to get this campaign off the ground. We’ll be outspent by the casinos but we need your help to compete – and we’ll do it neighbor-to-neighbor, house-to-house, community-to-community. This is Davis v. Goliath, the people v. money. And the people win. Please help our cause and join our grassroots effort. To sign up as a volunteer in your community, please contact your local leaders or visit our repeal website. To make a donation and support our grassroots efforts please donate here. Thank you kindly for your support and, remember, Vote Yes to Stop the Casino Mess. John Ribeiro

Home About QuickFacts Myths Donate Join How You Can Help Blog News Resources Contact Repeal the Casino Deal • P.O. Box 520162 • Winthrop, MA 02152

Get involved!

THE DECK IS STACKED AGAINST THE COMMONWEALTH

When we get on the ballot, we need to be ready.   We want to make sure you saw today's Boston Globe article about what we are doing to prepare for the inevitable political campaign to Repeal the Casino Deal. Casino enemies prepare for vote Needless to say, this costs money. If you believe in this cause your participation is required in order to suceed. Every dollar we collect helps us get another signature needed to be on the ballot, and helps us get ready to win this. Would you donate $25 today?  Contributions can be made by clicking here: DONATE TO REPEAL THE DEAL With gratitude for your support, Kathleen, Darek, Steve, Paul, John and the RTCD team Casino enemies prepare for vote By Mark Arsenault  | Globe staff   June 05, 2014 An antigambling group that has fought for the right to vote on a casino repeal measure is now retooling for the next step: persuading people to vote yes. Repeal the Casino Deal has hired two experienced political operatives to key campaign posts, revamped its website for a fall referendum, and is uniting individual casino-opposition groups across Massachusetts into a statewide organization.   What the group does not yet know is whether there will be a vote. Both sides of the gambling debate are keeping close watch on the Supreme Judicial Court, which is expected to rule by early July whether a casino repeal measure may move ahead to the November ballot. Repeal activists say they cannot afford to wait to get organized. “What a shame, if and when we get on the ballot, if we’re not in the process of mobilizing our increasing grass-roots momentum,” said former Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger, an adviser to the repeal group. Casino opponents have been working to place a repeal measure on the statewide ballot since lawmakers legalized Las Vegas-style casino gambling in Massachusetts nearly three years ago. Attorney General Martha Coakley ruled last year that the repeal measure was an unconstitutional taking of the implied contract rights of casino applicants and therefore could not be on the ballot. Opponents appealed to the SJC; the court heard arguments on the case in May.   Salem political strategist Darek Barcikowski, 36, will direct the repeal campaign if there is one, the repeal group confirmed Wednesday. Barcikowski managed the 2012 election of state Senator Joan Lovely, a Salem Democrat, and became manager for the 2013 Boston mayoral campaign of Bill Walczak, who was known for his opposition to casino gambling. Barcikowski has also worked on campaigns for US Representative Stephen F. Lynch and US Senator Edward Markey, he said. The repeal group also hired consultant Kristin MacEachern to be the campaign’s fund- raiser. She has 20 years of experience as a finance director and consultant, the group said. The new staff members join David Guarino of Melwood Global, a political consultant and former Boston Herald reporter who has been advising the group. The group intends to draw supporters, money, and campaign volunteers from the many anticasino groups that have cropped up around the state in the past two years in nearly every community in which a casino was proposed. Local groups already on board the statewide repeal campaign include Quaboag Valley Against Casinos, No Casino Springfield, No Slots Leominster, No Casino West Springfield, No Slots Millbury, Casino-Free Milford, and the East Boston group No Eastie Casino. Casino supporters, including at least some of the companies pitching projects in Massachusetts, have promised to defend the casino law in a political campaign, if necessary. “There are a lot of jobs at stake here,” said Dale Bergvine, a Plainville resident and member of People for Plainville, which favors casinos. He said the group “absolutely” would work against the repeal referendum if necessary. “Hopefully it doesn’t get on the ballot, but if it does, I’m sure it will be overwhelmingly defeated,” he said. About 76 percent of Plainville voters supported the Penn National plan in a local referendum last September. But casino opponents in West Springfield, Milford, Palmer, and East Boston defeated casino proposals at the ballot box. Opponents in other towns blocked gambling proposals before they could make it to a municipal vote. Many of the activists who led the local anticasino campaigns are now collecting signatures for Repeal the Casino Deal. The group must submit 11,485 valid signatures by June 18 to remain eligible for a spot on the November ballot. Barcikowski said the group wants to collect at least 25,000 signatures to ensure it will have enough valid ones. He said he is confident they will have enough signatures. “One of the things we looked at is how we can use the signature drive to build for a full-blown campaign, and that is precisely what we’re doing,” he said. “The grass-roots organizations driving and accelerating the signature drive allow us to reinvigorate the base, to reach out to folks, and to build an organization across the state.” The 2011 casino law authorized three resort-style casinos, no more than one in each of three regions of the state, and one slot machine parlor. In February, the state gambling commission awarded the slot parlor license to the Penn proposal in Plainville. The commission is expected next week to complete its review of the only viable project vying for the Western Massachusetts resort license, an MGM proposal in Springfield. The regulators hope to choose later this summer between two companies competing for the Greater Boston license. The final license, for Southeastern Massachusetts, is scheduled to be issued in 2015. http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/04/casino-repeal-group-retools-for-statewide-campaign/Bi3sic1ySAYP9srAR6Gr9I/story.html

Massachusetts is BUSINESS FRIENDLY! We can't be BOUGHT!

Promoters of Predatory Gambling in Massachusetts wrongly claim REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL would send a signal that Massachusetts is not BUSINESS FRIENDLY....They're WRONG!

"On the contrary. Repealing the law sends the message that deep-pocketed corporations can't come to Massachusetts; hire influential lobbyists to persuade politicians to change our laws; do it against the will of the people; and expect to get away with it."


Massachusetts voters are SAVVY and don't believe the propaganda.

Please join and support REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

Let's work together to protect ALL Massachusetts communities.


Please share your thoughts and comments.

RTCD SJC Oral Arguments Monday, May 5, 2014 Livestream

I want to bring your attention to an excellent blog post by BMG editor David Kravitz with information on how to watch live streaming of the May 5th SJC oral arguments of Repeal the Casino Deal v. AG Commonwealth.

Please join and support this grassroots effort to protect ALL Massachusetts communities!

 

 

 

 

 

The legal team we are privileged to work with on this interesting case is outstanding. David Kravitz has volunteered his legal expertise along with other esteemed scholars. Hat tip to the RTCD team!

Please share as you deem appropriate.

Check this out:

You can watch the casino oral argument at the SJC via livestream on Monday morning

david | Fri, May 2, 2014 12:40 AM EST

As you probably know by now, I’m a member of the “Repeal the Casino Deal” (RTCD) legal team. RTCD is trying to put a question on the November ballot that, basically, would make several forms of casino gambling illegal in Massachusetts. After the Attorney General ruled last September that the question did not qualify for the ballot, RTCD sued, and in the meantime has collected enough signatures so that, if the AG’s ruling is overturned in court, the question will almost certainly be on the ballot this fall (there is one more, rather small signature-gathering hurdle, but there’s little doubt that RTCD will easily surmount it).

The RTCD legal team has filed three briefs with the Supreme Judicial Court; the AG has filed two; and several interveners and amici curiae have filed briefs as well. Oral argument in the case is at 9 a.m. this Monday, May 5. You can read all the briefs in the case at this link, and you can watch oral argument live on Monday morning at this link. Video of the argument will also be archived at the same site.



http://bluemassgroup.com/2014/05/you-can-watch-the-casino-oral-argument-at-the-sjc-via-livestream-on-monday-morning/

 

Mark Arsenault's Pipe Dreams!

Hang it up, Mark!  You've lost any perspective!

These folks worked hard to protect their communities and spread the TRUTH and the FACTS about Predatory Gambling......I can't be more proud and more impressed with all they accomplished!

Folks don't want Predatory Gambling to destroy their communities, increase CRIME, increase DUIs, destroy local businesses.....

Let's work now to REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

In The Cards

11/05/2013 | 9:08 PM

Suffolk Downs defeated in E. Boston; will explore Revere-only project

By Mark Arsenault / Globe Staff

 

In one swift stunning blow, East Boston voters rejected casino dreams years in the making, defeating a $1 billion Suffolk Downs gambling resort project, a shocking turn for the state’s nascent casino industry and a prominent casino proposal once widely considered a lock to win the state’s most lucrative gambling license.

 

With the project winning a majority of support in Revere, however, Suffolk Downs will explore moving the entire development onto the Revere side of the city line, Chip Tuttle, the track’s chief operating officer, told the Globe.

 

In an official statement, Tuttle thanked the people of Revere “for their overwhelming vote of confidence in our project” and the people of East Boston “for allowing us to state our case for thousands of jobs for local residents.”

 

In Eastie, voters proved to be unmoved by big promises, pro-casino endorsements from powerful politicians — including Mayor Thomas M. Menino — and nearly $2 million in campaign spending by Suffolk Downs.

 

East Boston voter Krysten Hunt, 24, summed up the anti-casino position, saying she did not want more potential traffic, pollution, crime or gambling addiction in her neighborhood. “All that stuff? No, thanks,” she said. “It’s fine the way it is.”

 

The ballot box failure leaves the future of New England’s last thoroughbred racetrack in grave doubt. The 78-year-old track has been losing money for years, as its owners have pumped in money to keep the track afloat in anticipation of adding a profitable casino.

 

Mohegan Sun’s casino proposal for Palmer was also defeated Tuesday. Voters there defeated the referendum 2,657-2,564 with a staggering 66 percent turnout.

 

http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/blogs/in-the-cards/2013/11/05/casino/kAfAFsb6QJJE1tmF2Y2umK/blog.html

 

 

MGC Input....then sign REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

Repeal The Casino Deal

MGC has received very little citizen input....don't wait, do it now!

 

Kathleen Conley Norbut

Community members asked about providing input to the process. Contact the Mass Gaming Commission. Link below.

Host & Surrounding Communities 

 

Add your comments to the Massachusetts Gambling Commission and then sign the Petition to REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

 

We've seen what the proposals by Gambling Interests have done to communities around the Commonwealth.

Money is lavishly spent, grand promises made that will never be fulfilled and grassroots activists are unable to compete.

Once approved, projects become 'Bait & Switch,' such as Plainridge where a Mega Entertainment venue is now included. And Palmer where the proposal is not what was promised.

Taunton, Plainville, Milford and Palmer lack adequate water for the proposals.

 

Revenues and Jobs are grossly overstated and the truth is overshadowed by proponents.

[Easily disproven.] Jobs are mostly low wage, lacking wages that will eliminate taxpayer subsidies for food stamps, housing, etc.

Requisite infrastructure costs are ignored. Suffolks Downs alone will cost ALL Massachusetts taxpayers + $500 MILLION! Big Dig anyone?

All this at a time of Gambling Market Saturation and the industry's declining revenues.

Will we, as taxpayers, end up bailing out insolvent Gambling interests?

This makes no sense. Let's just be done with it!

Opponents of Predatory Gambling across the Commonwealth are gathering petition

signatures to add their voices and allow voters an opportunity to express their opposition on the ballot.

http://www.repealthecasinodeal.org/

The site recently added a new feature:

5 Signatures

Download the petition and ask your friends

and family to help put this on the ballot.

[Remember, names on a petition must all be from the same city/town. Download

another petition if you add a different community. Then just MAIL!]

Time is growing short, so speak out NOW!

It's time to protect ALL Massachusetts communities

 

More great opportunities!

As you know we made a huge push for signatures this weekend as we get
closer and closer to the deadline. Thank you to everyone who stepped up
to make this weekend a success.

Tuesday November 5th is election day in most major cities and this gives
us another huge opportunity to increase our signature count. In many
towns throughout Massachusetts, there are also special town meetings
around this time.

We need everyone to position themselves outside the entrance (at least
150ft away from the polls in the case of an election) of one of these
elections or meetings for 1-2 hours. I have included some of them below
for you to pick from, but there are others as well that you might know
about.

Respond and let me know where (ward, precinct) you want to go and when so
we don't assign too many people to one spot and neglect others.


West

Springfield and Holyoke are holding elections

Special State Senate election for Easthampton, Southampton, Westfield,
Holyoke, Agawam, Granville, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland and
part of Chicopee.

Longmeadow and Monson are holding Special Town Meetings on the nearby
casino proposals at 6pm (arrive an hour early to catch people as they
arrive). Both will be very receptive crowds.

Central

Worcester is holding a mayoral and city council election, lots of polling
locations, pick one and spend a few hours

Southeast

Westport Special Town Meeting, 6pm arrive an hour early to catch people as
they arrive)

Fall River and Westport will hold elections as well

North and Northeast

Hamilton town meeting on Monday at 7 and Wenham on Tuesday at 7:30 arrive
an hour early to catch people as they arrive)

Lowell is also holding an election.

Greater Boston

The Boston Election for mayor as well as the East Boston election on the
casino. This will be a huge opportunity for signatures. If you live
anywhere nearby we need you to staff the polls for a few hours.

There is an election in Somerville as well which will be big due to Mayor
Curtatone's opposition to the casinos.

Thank you for joining us for these events!

Brian Ashmankas
Your Campaign Director

brianashmankas@repealthecasinodeal.org

REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

Please pass this website along to any e-mail lists you have and promote on
social media.

5signatures.com

This will supplement all our efforts to collect signatures at churches, in
front of grocery stores, at town meetings and elections, and at the Red
Sox parade this weekend and over the next few weeks.

There’s an old Russian proverb: “If everyone gives a thread, the poor man
will have a shirt.” Our goal is to find 10,000 people willing to collect
5 signatures and get us half-way to the 100,000 signatures we need.

Brian Ashmankas
Campaign Director
Repeal the Casino Deal

Protect Your Community!

Have you added your name?

Join us! It couldn't be simpler!

It could NOT be easier to get this done. We need your help! It is time to let the voters of Massachusetts decide.

Please visit this website, and take a few minutes of your time to make this happen.
Visit the website, get 5 signatures, and mail in the form.
PLEASE DO IT.
www.5signatures.com

 

Your support is invaluable, thank you!!

Holyoke: "Should the city of Holyoke have a resort style gaming casino?"

No community in the Commonwealth will ever be safe until we REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

Holyoke voters face nonbinding questions on casino gambling, needle exchange on Election Day ballot

Print

By Mike Plaisance, The Republicanmasslive.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on October 26, 2013

 

HOLYOKE -- It's not just politicians on the Election Day ballot here Nov. 5 as voters also will be asked to vote on nonbinding questions regarding casino gambling and needle exchange.

Question 1 asks, "Should the city of Holyoke have a resort style gaming casino?"

Question 2 asks, "Should the city of Holyoke have a needle exchange program?"

Voters approved nonbinding casino questions here in 2002 and 1995, and rejected needle exchange in a nonbinding question in 2001.

City councilors voted in January to put the casino question on the ballot and in June to add the needle exchange question. Councilors said voters deserved a say on casino gambling and needle exchange despite decisions by Mayor Alex B. Morse.

Under a November 2011, licenses will be issued for up to three casino resorts in the state, including one in Western Massachusetts.

The gaming law requires that a developer reach a host-city agreement with a mayor or other community leader in order for such a project to proceed to a community vote. Morse wavered in November when he briefly said he would consider casino plans, but remains opposed -- and that means a casino project cannot move forward here as long as he is mayor.

Springfield voters approved the host community agreement between the city and MGM Resorts International for a gaming resort there on July 16. Palmer voters will decide a similar question on Nov. 5 regarding Mohegan Sun's plan off the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Councilors said Morse's opposition was unfair to Holyokers who wanted to give their current opinion about casino gambling, so they voted to offer the nonbinding question.

"It's a good opportunity for the citizens of Holyoke to have their voices be heard," Ward 2 Councilor Anthony Soto said during the Jan. 15 meeting.

Ward 7 residents have been vocal in fighting a casino here because previous plans have envisioned a gaming resort on the Mount Tom range.

John Epstein, of Harvard Street, said he is among those hoping Holyokers vote down the nonbinding casino question. The same negatives apply, he said: A casino would increase traffic and reduce property values. And, with two casinos permitted elsewhere in Massachusetts and casinos in adjoining states, revenue would be scarce, he said.

"They're just pulling the money out of the local economy," Epstein said.

Despite Holyoke currently being out of play, casino foes remain concerned. What if, they've asked, MGM fails the state Gaming Commission background check and is rejected, and then Palmer voters say no on the casino question there? Would that scenario put a Holyoke proposal back in play?

“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," commission chairman Stephen P. Crosby said in an interview Friday.

While Crosby initially told a reporter, "We don't anticipate that being the case," he went on to explain: "We just have no anticipation one way or the other. We have no data on what the vote is going be like in Palmer. We don't have a background check yet on MGM, so we have no expectations one way or the other."

MGM officials have said they are confident that the company will be found "suitable" by the commission, passing its background check.

Mohegan Sun officials have also said they are confident their plan will be approved by Palmer voters, though they are not taking the vote for granted.

The state deadline for developers to submit a final resort casino application is Dec. 31.

Under the law's current timeline, communities must allow a 60- to 90-day window between the signing of a host community agreement and the community referendum vote, which is a prerequisite for the final application.


http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/holyoke_voters_face_nonbinding.html

 

UNREGISTERED AND ILLEGAL PAC IN PALMER? MEDIA SILENT?

Mohegan Sun is another monster mired in debt.

Sun's Mass. casino vote may be too close to call
By Brian Hallenbeck
Publication: The Day

Published 10/27/2013

 

Palmer, Mass. - For more than 15 years, people here have confronted the prospect of a resort casino in their midst.

In polls and in a nonbinding referendum, they've supported the notion. But now, on the verge of a Nov. 5 vote on Mohegan Sun's plan for a $1 billion casino-water park development, few are eager to predict the outcome.

It's no longer about a notion, they say. This referendum's binding.

If the pro-casino "Vote Yes for Palmer" forces out-poll their "CasiNO" counterparts, Mohegan Sun and its partners will continue to pursue the western Massachusetts casino license Bay State gaming
regulators are expected to award in the spring.

If project opponents prevail, Mohegan Sun can close its Main Street office and get out of town.

"We've done two or three polls out there in the past and every one showed overwhelming support for hosting a casino in Palmer," Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, said last week. "But we've seen over and over that even when polls show large margins in favor of casinos, the actual votes are a lot closer. Opponents are often more motivated (than proponents) to come out and actually vote."

So while polls conducted in Palmer in 2008, 2009 and 2010 revealed growing support for a casino - percentages in favor were 55, 60 and 64 percent, respectively - Barrow is banking on an Election Day nail-biter.

"I think it will be decided by 1 or 2 percent," he said. "Right now, the polls in the past indicate it should pass."

Paul Burns, one of two town councilors who have come out in support of the Mohegan Sun Massachusetts project, believes the town's long-running consideration of a casino is another reason the vote's unlikely to be lopsided.

While Paul Burns has been prime casino cheerleaders [perhaps violating Massachusetts Ethics Rules], he helped bury the Palmer Citizens Casino Study Committee Report that determined the annual cost to host would exceed the phony promises. 

And what about the WATER?

"Palmer has studied it more than any other community," Burns said. "I wouldn't be upset with a tight margin - it would just be a sign that people have done their homework. When you have an extremely informed electorate, they're not going to be easily swayed.

"Don't look for an Everett margin here," he said, referring to a June referendum in the Greater Boston city of Everett, where more than 86 percent of voters approved Wynn Resorts' casino proposal. "In Everett, they didn't have time to study it."

While he'd be happy with a narrow victory, Burns said he thinks Palmer voters will approve the Mohegan Sun Massachusetts proposal by a margin of 8 to 10 percentage points. He predicted a turnout of 32 percent to 40 percent, which he said would be "huge" for a local election. No offices are up for election. Ballots will pose only the casino question.

Members of Quaboag Valley Against Casinos, the leading anti-casino group operating in Palmer, say they've been gaining momentum. They acknowledge, too, that they're fighting an uphill battle.

"We're a silent majority," said Iris Cardin, the group's co-president. "We're coming out now. There are more anti-casino people than in the past. ... No one expected Hard Rock to be defeated."

Cardin's underdog opposition might have gotten a boost, at least psychologically, from a September referendum in West Springfield, where voters shot down a Hard Rock International casino proposal by a 55-45 margin. That outcome narrowed the field vying for the western Massachusetts casino license to two: Mohegan Sun Massachusetts and MGM Resorts International, which won a July referendum on its Springfield project with nearly 58 percent of the vote.

"I've lived here all my life," the 67-year-old Cardin said. "We're a family-oriented town. Why would we want a casino to ruin it?"

Mike Eagan, a spokesman for Cardin's group, said casino opponents have been making inroads.
"I think we're doing well," he said on a recent Saturday, picketing at the busy intersection of Thorndike and Main streets. "The more you know about a casino, the more unlikely it is that you're going to want one in your community."

Economic benefits, social costs

While casino opponents typically focus on the quality-of-life issues associated with gambling - addiction, crime, traffic and casinos' effects on surrounding small businesses - casino operators tout the revenue and jobs they generate. Governments tend to find the promise of economic benefits irresistible.

Mohegan Sun's "host community agreement" with Palmer, for example, seemed to more than satisfy town officials. The pact calls for the casino to dole out nearly $3 million in upfront payments, as well as annual payments of $15.2 million plus 0.25 percent of the casino's first $400 million in gaming revenue and 2 percent of the revenue beyond $400 million.

Based on Mohegan Sun's projections, total casino revenue for Palmer would top $18 million in the casino's first year of operation.

In addition, the agreement calls for Mohegan Sun to foot the bill for more than $41 million worth of infrastructure improvements to water and sewer systems, the Exit 8 interchange of the Massachusetts Turnpike and local roadways.

The town has an annual budget of about $33 million, of which $15.3 million is derived from local property taxes, according to Charlie Blanchard, the town manager.

After tapping the projected casino windfall to cover "mitigation" costs - expenses incurred because of the casino's impact on services such as police and fire protection - the town still would have more than $12 million a year at its disposal to fund improvements and lower property taxes, Blanchard has calculated.

If the Town Council raised the budget of each town department, including schools, by 15 percent, reduced sewer fees by 10 percent, paid for the town's new police station, funded a bridge repair program and put $1 million a year into the town's "Stabilization Fund," it could still cut property taxes by more than 40 percent, the town manager wrote in an op-ed piece last month.

"There may be reasons why people would decide not to vote in favor of having a casino in Palmer," Blanchard wrote, "… but the host community agreement and the fiscal improvement it would bring should not be one of them."

Mitchell Etess, chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which operates Mohegan Sun in Uncasville and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., said the project's economic impact on the town would be "truly transformative."

He said he's "very confident" that Palmer will vote in favor of the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity the project represents. "I don't know of anything that could be built anywhere that could have so much beneficial impact on a community," he said. "And we've made every effort to minimize the
(negative) impact."

If signs voted

The town's casino supporters, many of whom are members of Citizens for Jobs and Growth in Palmer, have been monitoring the casino-approval process for years. The group formed in the spring of 2010 and has been working in conjunction with Mohegan Sun's own "Vote Yes for Palmer" campaign since the signing of the host community agreement.

WHERE IS Citizens for Jobs and Growth
 REGISTERED AS A PAC?
WHERE IS Citizens for Jobs and Growth
REPORTING THEIR $$$$?

WHERE IS Citizens for Jobs and Growth
TRANSPARENT AND LEGAL?

WHO IS PAYING JENNIFER BARUFFALDI'S SALARY?

WHO IS ASKING? WHY ISN'T THE MEDIA CONDUCTING THEIR DUE DILIGENCE?

"We're happy to carry their signs," Jennifer Baruffaldi, the citizens group's spokeswoman, said.
If signs could vote, the referendum outcome would seem assured. In recent weeks, pro-casino placards planted on residential lawns and in merchants' windows have overwhelmingly outnumbered those placed by casino opponents.

Both sides also have taken to Facebook and the radio airwaves, staged public rallies and courted news coverage. Quaboag Valley Against Casinos hosted an appearance this month by former southeastern Connecticut congressman Robert Steele, whose book, "The Curse: Big Time Gambling's Seduction of Small Town New England," takes a dim view of gaming's impact.

Cardin, the anti-casino group's co-president, said Steele warned that a Palmer casino would make it difficult for small businesses in the surrounding area to survive.

It might be hard to dispute, however, that the Mohegan Sun Massachusetts project is spurring ancillary development right next door. Northeast Realty, which owns the property leased by Mohegan Sun, also controls adjacent parcels totaling another 150 acres on which it plans to develop restaurants, retail space, hotels and offices requiring $150 million worth of investment.

The development is going forward regardless of whether the Mohegan Sun Massachusetts project materializes, according to Northeast's manager, Leon Dragone.

Those on both sides of the referendum question might agree that the Nov. 5 vote is strictly about Palmer's willingness to host Mohegan Sun Massachusetts.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with West Springfield or Springfield," said Etess, the MTGA executive, who declined to comment on reports that West Springfield activists who opposed the casino project there have joined the pro-casino camp in Palmer. Presumably, such activists would prefer a casino to be built in Palmer rather than Springfield.

If Mohegan Sun Massachusetts clears the referendum hurdle, the project's proponents can be expected to concentrate on comparing it - favorably - to MGM Resorts' Springfield proposal. They undoubtedly would highlight the Mohegan Sun project's water park component and the way the project partners sailed through the gaming commission's background checks, earning "suitable" designations.

The suitability process snagged the Suffolk Downs casino plan in East Boston, prompting the license applicants to drop Caesars Entertainment from the project and raising questions about whether other international operators, including MGM Resorts, would have trouble passing muster with the commission.

Casino opponents in Palmer aren't going to disappear if they lose the referendum vote. Many, including Cardin, the Quaboag Valley Against Casinos co-president, are also involved in an effort to repeal the 2011 law that authorized casinos in Massachusetts. The citizen's group Repeal the Casino Deal is hoping to have a referendum question placed on statewide ballots in the November 2014 election.


http://www.theday.com/article/20131027/BIZ02/310279905/1017

 

Why Holyoke isn't safe

NO COMMUNITY IN THE COMMONWEALTH WILL EVER BE SAFE
FROM PREDATORY GAMBLING UNTIL WE REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!

FROM: Lyn Horan

We Are NOT Safe
From The Threat of a
HOLYOKE CASINO
Here's Why:
...
1. The Holyoke City Council has placed a
referendum question on the November
ballot asking if voters approve of placing a
casino in Holyoke.

2. Eric Suher, owner of Mountain Park, was
recently spotted meeting with a casino
executive.

3. Hard Rock Casino, who recently lost their
bid in West Springfield, is searching for
another location and already has a fully
developed plan to build a Holyoke casino at
Wyckoff Country Club on Easthampton
Road. Their plan is ready to go. All they
need is a receptive mayor.

4.Jeff Stanek has said that pursuing a casino
for Holyoke is a good idea. (Alex Morse
previously turned down Hard Rock and is
firmly opposed to bringing a casino to
Holyoke).

5. The Massachusetts gaming law gives the
Mayor sole power to negotiate a deal with
casino developers. They do not need
additional authority from other city entities.

6. There is over a billion dollars
($1,000,000,000) at stake. It would be
foolish to believe that developers, operators
and property owners would simply walk
away from the temptation of this kind of
money without putting up a fight.

7. With the junctions of I-91 and The Mass
Pike on our doorstep, many informed
people believe that Holyoke would be at
the very top of the Gaming Commission's
list – if it is back in play.
8. Any casino developer who has already paid
the $400,000 Phase I application fee to the
state, can pursue a casino in any
community which approves it, including
Holyoke. The Phase I application is NOT
location-specific.

9. Contrary to common misconception,
Springfield does NOT have a lock on the
casino. Just over a year ago everyone was
saying that Palmer had it sewn up and that
Springfield didn't stand a chance. NO ONE
has it locked in, because the final decision
rests entirely with the Gaming Commission
and no one knows which site they will pick.

10. The deadlines posted by the Mass. Gaming
Commission (MGC) are not absolute.
They are described as "likely" target dates.
If the MGC decides to shift the deadline by
just 90 days, Holyoke will be back in play
after this election. That shift is at the sole
discretion of the Gaming Commission.

11. If Palmer voters defeat Mohegan Sun on
November 5th; and if the MGC denies
MGM because of their Macau partnership
with daughter of organized crime leader
Stanley Ho (as happened in New Jersey); or
if the MGC recognizes that traffic on I-91
and the 3 bridges will be unmanageable –
Holyoke will be back in the running.

12. The threat to Holyoke will exist until the
day that the Mass. Gaming Commission
gives final approval to a developer to build
the casino elsewhere. Until that day comes,
we are not safe from the threat of a
Holyoke casino.

Presented by:
Citizens for a Better Holyoke
P.O. Box 6543
Holyoke, MA 01041
CitizensForABetterHolyoke@gmail.com

COMING SOON:
A VOTER’S GUIDE TO THE
CANDIDATES WHO OPPOSE
A HOLYOKE CASINOSee More

Thanks No Casino Leominster!

Cordish was booted from 3 other communities before their slick pr campaign......


Three times a loser and we took the bait!We were the fourth community on the selection list. Danvers, Boxborough, and Salisbury all had the good sense to refuse the Las Vegas style Live! brand slots parlor. These communities had town selectmen who were engaged in discussion and the selection process. Residents in these towns had a chance to speak. All we got was a well-funded, biased marketing campaign. See the Boston Business Journal article for details.


Communities that education themselves OPPOSE PREDATORY GAMBLING!

I join my nosy neighbor in saluting Leominster for recognizing the only way to protect every community in the Commonwealth is


REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL!  

Mary Tufts

No Slots in Leominster puts Repeal the Casino Deal right at the top of their home page - thanks, NSL!

 

 

Get involved: Repeal the Deal Signature Drive!

This is a bipartisan, statewide, volunteer initiative to get a referendum question on the November 2014 ballot that would repeal casinos, including slots parlors, in Massachusetts. Join us in gathering signatures at the Leominster Market Basket on Sat. 10/28/13 or stop by to sign the petition. We will be there between 8-10 and need volunteers between 10-12. If you can volunteer some time, please send an email to nocasinosinleominster@gmail.com and include your name, address, and phone nuhttp://www.noslotsleominster.com/noslots/index.htmlmber.

http://www.noslotsleominster.com/noslots/index.html

 

 

Massachusetts Gam[bl]ing Commission Defending Crime

Anyone who believes Gambling will attract TOURISTS is delusional and uninformed.

That was the Folly on which Predatory Gambling was sold in Massachusetts. Don't believe it!

Folks don't come to Massachusetts to GAMBLE and fewer will come if we don't REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL.

Steve Wynn with his nip-and-tuck personae, would convince that BRIBING FOREIGN OFFICIALS in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is simply.....hmmmmm....local custom?

What's a few million dollars? It's just the cost of doing business!



And MGM?

Oh...well....being connected to Asian Organized Crime is no big deal after all....well, is it?

All they have to do is promise not to do it in Massachusetts and everything is OK....right?


Massachusetts Gaming Commission reaffirms view that casinos should market tourist attractions

Stephen Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts, right at the microphone, and Kim Sinatra, general counsel for Wynn Resorts, left, appear before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday to defend the company's operations in Macau in China. (Dan Ring / The Republican)

By Dan Ring, The Republicanmasslive.com
Follow on Twitter
on October 17, 2013

BOSTON - State gaming regulators said that developers of casinos will be judged on their plans for promoting tourism, but they stopped short of saying a license application must include evidence of a formal partnership with a regional tourist organization.

During a lengthy meeting at the John B. Hynes convention center in Boston, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission also questioned executives of Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International about their foreign gaming operations.

During the afternoon, two leaders of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau on Thursday asked the commission to require that all applications for the casino license in Western Massachusetts must include documentation of "an established mutually-beneficial partnership" with the bureau, designated as the regional tourist council for the Pioneer Valley.

Stephen P. Crosby, the chairman of the commission, said there is currently "tremendous incentive" for casino companies to demonstrate a commitment to tourism promotion. Crosby said the commission's regulations, application form and the state gambling law already make it clear that casino operators must demonstrate they will boost tourism and work with agencies such as the convention and visitors bureau.

"I don't know if we can go further than that," Crosby said.

Artists' renderings of the proposed MGM Springfield (above) and Mohegan Sun Massachusetts casinos.

 

After their formal presentation before the commission, Peter Rosskothen, owner of the Log Cabin and Delaney House in Holyoke, and Mary Kay Wydra, president of the convention and visitors bureau, said they were pleased with the statements of commissioners, even if their specific request was not granted.

"We truly got everything and more than what we were hoping for," said Rosskothen, chair of the gaming committee for the convention and visitors bureau.

Wydra said commissioners sent a message to proposed developers that they will need to show a strong commitment to tourism promotion.

Rosskothen said the convention and visitors bureau is working on "meaningful, two-sided" marketing partnership agreements with the Mohegan Sun Massachusetts, which is planning a nearly $1 billion casino resort in Palmer, and MGM Resorts International, which is planning an $850 million resort in the South End of Springfield.

In the negotiations with MGM and the Mohegan Sun, the bureau is seeking a program to award points to gamblers that can be redeemed at local restaurants, movie theaters or other attractions, cross-promotion of local businesses through social media on the Internet and through signs and brochures at casinos, transportation from casinos to attractions in the Pioneer Valley, regional marketing funds, active membership in the bureau and funds to help the bureau bring sporting events to the region.

Rosskothen said the bureau is making progress with both casino companies seeking the lone state license for Western Massachusetts.

The 250-member bureau, an affiliate of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, is one of 16 regional tourist councils in the state, responsible for promoting the Pioneer Valley as a destination for conventions, meetings, group tours, sports and leisure travel.

Wydra presented statistics showing the importance of tourism in Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties. Spending in the industry is $662 million annually, she said. The industry is responsible for 4,390 jobs, $136 million in wages, $35 million in state taxes and $14.7 million in local taxes.

Rosskothen and Wydra appeared before the gaming commission after executives of Wynn Resorts LTD and MGM Resorts International took questions about their foreign gambling operations.

John McManus, executive vice president of MGM Resorts InternationalDan Ring / The Republican

 

The morning half of the commission's meeting was dominated by the CEO of Wynn Resorts who questioned if his company will be held to murky standards of integrity and ethics when gambling regulators in Massachusetts investigate the foreign operations of casinos. Wynn said he didn't want to be accountable to standards he does not understand.

"We don't tolerate criminal activity on our premises," said Stephen Wynn, founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts, which is planning a casino in $1.2 billion casino resort on the Mystic River in Everett. "I want to be held to that standard."

Wynn and an executive for MGM discussed their gambling operations in Macau, located in China and the world's top gambling market.

The commission is investigating the business practices and ethics of companies as part of background investigations during the licensing process. The five-member commission, which is planning to award casino resort licenses in April, looks at a broad category called "the integrity, honesty, good character and reputation" of an applicant.

Wynn voiced concerns about Macau's dependence on "junket operators," which get a commission for bringing wealthy gamblers to the casinos.

"It isn't being stolen," Wynn said of gambling money in Macau. "It isn't being converted. It's being lost and paid."

Wynn cautioned the commission about obtaining information during its background checks.

"I'm a better source than an absentee footnote," Wynn said. "Question me. We are doing the work."

Gayle Cameron, a member of the commission and a former deputy superintendent with the New Jersey State Police, told Wynn that the commission needs to determine if "a criminal element" is involved in a casino's operations.

Cameron said she was concerned that Wynn held "disdain" for investigations.

Crosby attempted to assure Wynn about the goals of the commission's background investigations.

"Basically, we're looking for criminals, or close to it, and to try to make sure no such people are involved in our operations," Crosby said.

Before Wynn spoke, John M. McManus, executive vice president and general counsel for MGM Resorts International, appeared with Patrick Macamba, a lawyer from Atlantic City, N.J. and a couple of "experts" for MGM, including Mark Lipparelli, former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and Peter Cohen, former executive commissioner and chief executive officer of the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation in Australia.

Lipparelli and Cohen encouraged gaming commissioners to share information with government officials who oversee casinos in Macau.

As part of its background check into MGM, the gaming commission might question MGM's partnership in Macau with Pansy Ho, whose father had organized crime connections, according to a report by gambling regulators in New Jersey.

In a recent filing in New Jersey, MGM said it now controls 51 percent of MGM China Holdings, which is the parent of MGM Macau, reducing Pansy Ho 's ownership to 27 percent.

In an interview after appearing before the gaming commission, McManus said he was not concerned that MGM would fail a background check in Massachusetts because of its partner in Macau.

"We've been found suitable everywhere we have done business," he said. "We are very comfortable with our operations in Macau, with our relationship with Pansy Ho there. We're now a public company and she is minority shareholder."


NOT SO! New Jersey asked that MGM severe its ties with Patsy Ho and MGM instead severed its ties with New Jersey.

http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/massachusetts_gaming_leaders_r.html

REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL! STATEWIDE MEETING SAT. OCT. 19TH

REPEAL THE CASINO DEAL! BAD FOR COMMUNITIES, BAD FOR THE COMMONWEALTH

With our signature gathering drive now in full speed, please join the Repeal the Casino Deal staff and all of our volunteers from across Massachusetts for a statewide meeting on Sat. Oct 19th starting at 10am. Coffee and bagels will be provided. We will be joined by two guest speakers, including Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, and then we will team up and gather signatures for the afternoon, returning for pizza and more conversation.    We need you with us for this important event to take our movement to the next level! Please try to bring at least one friend or two. Let us know if you can come and whether you need or can offer carpooling opportunities. STATEWIDE SIGNATURE MEETING AND COLLECTION EXTRAVAGANZA WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2013 at 10:00 AM   WHERE: WESLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 80 BEACON ST., FRAMINGHAM, MA (convenient to MassPike Exits 12 or 13) RSVP: brianashmankas@repealthecasinodeal.org Phone: (774)276-1281 If you can't come, please donate $10 or more to help financially support the effort. Thank you for your help with this important cause, Brian Ashmankas Campaign Director Repeal the Casino Deal 617-701-7823

Repeal The Casino Deal Committee ι Brian Ashmankas, Signature Campaign Director ι (617) 701-7823