MUST WATCH!
Showing posts with label The Curse..... Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Curse..... Show all posts
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Former Conn. US Rep. Steele to speak: Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Liberal Club at 20 Star St., Fall River
This is a MUST if you haven't heard Former Conn. US Rep. Steele speak or read his book!
Only a neighbor knows how bad Predatory Gambling is and what it does to a community!
Former Conn. US Rep. Steele to speak against casino proposal at Liberal Club on Wednesday
FALL RIVER — Amid the possibility of a casino coming to Fall River — or New Bedford, depending on who you talk to — a group of Greater Fall River residents who opposed to Foxwoods' proposal to build a resort-style casino has been quietly organizing.
On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Liberal Club at 20 Star St., the group called Citizens for the Common Good will host speaker, author and former Connecticut Congressman Robert Steele, who will give a presentation titled “The explosion of casino gambling and its impact on Connecticut, New England and the nation.”
The event is free and open to the public.
“Most people don’t know what is involved and how it affects their community,” Steele said.
From the 1970s to the late 1990s, Steele lived with his family on the edge of the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation, he said. Steele said he saw firsthand the effects of living in a community with the two largest casinos in the world in their backyard.
Steele said he’s been speaking to groups across the commonwealth and New York who oppose the development of casinos in their municipalities.
Former Fall River mayoral candidate and community organizer Joseph Carvalho said his group invited Steele to speak to “try to give people a sense of the other side of the story.”
“He’s coming to tell people the experience based on what’s happening in Connecticut,” Carvalho said. “The education process is very important, and we’re finding people are overwhelmed by the propaganda from Foxwoods.”
It’s important, according to Carvalho, to show people a casino is the wrong way to build a local economy.
Carvalho said Citizens for the Common Good was started in 2009 when Mayor Will Flanagan first proposed a casino at the site that now houses the biopark.
He said the group reorganized when it was made aware a new casino proposal was possible.
In January, Flanagan and Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera announced the casino conglomerate was looking to build a $750 million resort casino in Fall River.
Initially, the company identified a 30-acre parcel at the New Harbour Mall site, but Flanagan recently reported that Foxwoods was looking to move the project to a 120-acre waterfront site.
Foxwoods has not confirmed the change of location, and last week, The Standard-Times reported the company was in negotiations with New Bedford.
Flanagan said he received assurances from Butera the reports were not true and that Foxwoods remained committed to developing in Fall River.
http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20140602/NEWS/140609465/1994/NEWS
Only a neighbor knows how bad Predatory Gambling is and what it does to a community!
Former Conn. US Rep. Steele to speak against casino proposal at Liberal Club on Wednesday
FALL RIVER — Amid the possibility of a casino coming to Fall River — or New Bedford, depending on who you talk to — a group of Greater Fall River residents who opposed to Foxwoods' proposal to build a resort-style casino has been quietly organizing.
On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Liberal Club at 20 Star St., the group called Citizens for the Common Good will host speaker, author and former Connecticut Congressman Robert Steele, who will give a presentation titled “The explosion of casino gambling and its impact on Connecticut, New England and the nation.”
The event is free and open to the public.
“Most people don’t know what is involved and how it affects their community,” Steele said.
From the 1970s to the late 1990s, Steele lived with his family on the edge of the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation, he said. Steele said he saw firsthand the effects of living in a community with the two largest casinos in the world in their backyard.
Steele said he’s been speaking to groups across the commonwealth and New York who oppose the development of casinos in their municipalities.
Former Fall River mayoral candidate and community organizer Joseph Carvalho said his group invited Steele to speak to “try to give people a sense of the other side of the story.”
“He’s coming to tell people the experience based on what’s happening in Connecticut,” Carvalho said. “The education process is very important, and we’re finding people are overwhelmed by the propaganda from Foxwoods.”
It’s important, according to Carvalho, to show people a casino is the wrong way to build a local economy.
Carvalho said Citizens for the Common Good was started in 2009 when Mayor Will Flanagan first proposed a casino at the site that now houses the biopark.
He said the group reorganized when it was made aware a new casino proposal was possible.
In January, Flanagan and Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera announced the casino conglomerate was looking to build a $750 million resort casino in Fall River.
Initially, the company identified a 30-acre parcel at the New Harbour Mall site, but Flanagan recently reported that Foxwoods was looking to move the project to a 120-acre waterfront site.
Foxwoods has not confirmed the change of location, and last week, The Standard-Times reported the company was in negotiations with New Bedford.
Flanagan said he received assurances from Butera the reports were not true and that Foxwoods remained committed to developing in Fall River.
http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20140602/NEWS/140609465/1994/NEWS
Monday, May 26, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Local opposition told that Northeast market is saturated
The author is scheduled to speak in Fall River - a MUST ATTEND!
Casino panned by ex-lawmaker
Local opposition told that Northeast market is saturated
By Kenneth C. Crowe II
Updated 10:25 pm, Thursday, May 22, 2014
AlbanyIt's difficult and can seem daunting, but it's possible to fight against casino development and win, an author and former Connecticut congressman said Thursday.
"It's got to start with the grassroots." said Bob Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town."
"All the casinos do is suck money out of your town, your city," said Steele, who represented eastern Connecticut, the site of the Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Congress.
Steele was in Albany to speak to people organizing to fight casinos proposed in the Capital Region.
His appearance was sponsored by No Casinos in the Capital District, Occupy Albany, Bethlehem Community Voices and the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany.
"Clearly the deck is stacked against you. Look at the language in the referendum," Steele said about the scene in New York state where four casinos are to be licensed.
But while the odds may seem long, he said, when local residents organize the can win the battle against casinos.
Steele said gambling interests push economic benefits, but they don't last and the health and social negatives are not addressed.
The casino market in the Northeast is becoming oversaturated, he said.
The casino planned for the Capital Region, he said, will not draw in tourists who can opt for the glitz of Las Vegas but will rely on local gamblers.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Anti-casino-rally-in-Albany-5497596.php
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Former Congressman Warns of Ill Effects of Gambling
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
Former Congressman Warns of Ill Effects of Gambling
Robert H. Steele, an Essex resident, corporate executive, author, former U.S. congressman (2nd District, CT) and gubernatorial nominee who was defeated by Ella Grasso in the 1974 election, told the Westport Rotary Club today of what he said were the ill effects of gambling casinos in the state. “Gambling addiction is a real problem,” he said. “There’s a 400 percent increase in embezzlement cases in southeastern Connecticut due in large part to gambling addiction.” Steele’s book, “The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town,” a story of history, money and politics, was published in 2012. Steele’s father, known as Bob Steele, was host of the state’s top-rated morning show on WTIC-AM for more than 50 years. Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Gambling puts us all at risk
Robert Steele and Tony Hwang: Gambling puts us all at risk
Published 5:38 pm, Friday, October 25, 2013
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which led to an explosion of Indian and commercial casinos across the country.
In 1988, only two states allowed casinos, Nevada and New Jersey. Today 39 states have casinos, and we now have nearly 1,000 of them, almost evenly divided between Indian and commercial.
Nowhere did casino gambling get off to a more spectacular start than in Connecticut. Foxwoods, owned by the Mashantucket Pequots, opened in 1992 and Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegans, opened in 1996.
They were the first casinos in the Northeast outside Atlantic City and quickly grew into the two largest casinos in the world -- drawing over half their combined customers from outside Connecticut, creating 20,000 casino jobs, and sending hundreds of millions of dollars a year in shared slot revenue to the state.
They also have a serious downside, however. They have created a pervasive gambling culture in southeastern Connecticut; they've skewed the region's economy heavily toward low-paying service jobs; and they were followed by a sharp spike in the number of state residents seeking treatment for gambling addiction. According to a 2009 state-sponsored study, there had been a 400 percent increase in arrests for embezzlement since Foxwoods opened, a rate of increase 10 times the national average.
The numbers prompted a columnist for The Day in New London to describe southeastern Connecticut as the embezzlement capital of America.
As far back as 1997, Congress was so concerned about the spread of casino gambling that it set up a national commission to study the issue.
That commission subsequently recommended a moratorium on new casinos until the government could get a better handle on their social and economic costs. Additionally, the commission recommended banning credit card and ATM use at casinos, prohibiting aggressive casino advertising and restricting political contributions by the gambling industry to guard against political corruption.
None of these recommendations were ever implemented, and casinos have continued to multiply.
Now a new study published by The Council on Casinos, an independent, nonpartisan group of scholars assembled by the Institute for American Values, contains a serious new warning about casino expansion.
"From time to time," the council states "a new institution takes root across the country, and in doing so changes the nation, changes the physical landscape of communities, impacts the patterns and habits of daily life, affects citizens' and communities' economic outcomes, and even alters relationships" among its citizens.
That is precisely what is happening with casinos, according to the study, with states' hunger for casino revenue creating a host of problems, from fostering gambling addiction to draining wealth from lower-income people and contributing to economic inequality in America.
Among the council's key findings:
Once a largely occasional upper-class activity, casino gambling has moved from the margins to the mainstream of American life.
The new American casino is primarily filled with highly addictive slot machines. It caters overwhelmingly to middle- and low-rollers who live within an hour away, return frequently, and play the slots.
Modern slot machines have transformed American gambling. They have become sophisticated computers, engineered to create fast, continuous, and repeat betting designed to get players to gamble longer and lose more over time.
Problem gamblers (those with moderate and severe gambling addiction) account for 40-60 percent of slot machine revenues.
Living close to a casino increases the chance of becoming a problem gambler.
Casinos extract wealth from communities, weaken nearby businesses, and reduce voluntarism, civic participation, family stability and other forms of social capital.
Casinos are the creation of government and its public policies, and constitute a regressive tax that particularly impacts low-wage earners, retirees, minorities and women.
As a result of the weak economy and growing competition from casinos in other states, slot revenue at Connecticut's casinos is down over 30 percent from its peak (with the state's share dropping from $430 million to under $300 million) and is projected to continue to decline as Massachusetts and other states open casinos. With Connecticut's casino monopoly gone and mounting evidence of gambling's negative impact, one would hope the state would focus on finding non-gambling solutions to compensate for its shrinking slot receipts.
Instead, our state government appears determined to double down and promote more gambling. It recently increased the casinos' free-play allowance so they can beef up promotions and has begun to put the state in the electronic casino gambling business.
In the last days of the legislative session, Gov. Dannel Malloy and the majority leadership pushed through a gambling game called keno (essentially electronic bingo) for restaurants, bars, taverns and convenience stores.
They claim it will produce $31 million in its first two years, but keno was never discussed by the appropriate committees, was not included in the legislative budget, and was never proposed at any time until the final budget document was made public on the day of the vote. Mary Drexler, executive director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, has called the decision to legalize keno "astounding," given its addictiveness and the problems it will create.
Then the next day a group of legislators proposed introducing video slots in Connecticut, beginning at the old dog track in Bridgeport, Sports Haven in New Haven, and the Bradley Teletheater in Windsor Locks.
Still more troubling, Nevada and New Jersey recently legalized in-state online gambling for their casinos, and Governor Malloy has indicated he favors doing the same for Connecticut's casinos. The casinos want it in order to attract younger customers, and experts view it as especially addictive because of the fast pace of the games, their 24-hour availability and the instant gratification aspect of the action.
It is clearly time for an open and vigorous public debate on the future of state-sponsored gambling in Connecticut, including the extent to which we should try to prop up the casinos, whether to implement or kill keno, what to do about video slots, and whether it is in the state's interest to legalize Internet casino gambling.
Robert Steele, of Essex, represented eastern Connecticut in Congress from 1970 to 1974 and is the author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town" (Levellers Press). State Rep. Tony Hwang is in his third term in the Connecticut General Assembly and represents the 134th District, which includes portions of Fairfield and Trumbull.
http://www.ctpost.com/opinion/article/Robert-Steele-and-Tony-Hwang-Gambling-puts-us-4926773.php
Thursday, October 17, 2013
More Gambling A Bad Bet......For Any State
Robert Steele is a great speaker! Great book! It should be on everyone's 'Must Read' list.
More Gambling A Bad Bet For Connecticut
OP-ED
Sixteen years ago, Congress was so concerned about the spread of casino gambling that it set up a commission to study the issue.
In 1999, the commission recommended a moratorium on new casinos until the government could get a better handle on their social and economic costs. In addition, the commission recommended banning credit card and ATM use at casinos, prohibiting aggressive casino advertising and restricting political contributions by the gambling industry to guard against political corruption.
In 1999, the commission recommended a moratorium on new casinos until the government could get a better handle on their social and economic costs. In addition, the commission recommended banning credit card and ATM use at casinos, prohibiting aggressive casino advertising and restricting political contributions by the gambling industry to guard against political corruption.
None of the recommendations were implemented, and casinos continue to multiply. We have nearly 1,000 of them, almost evenly divided between Indian and non-Indian operators.
Now a study of government-sponsored casino gambling was just published by The Council on Casinos, an independent, nonpartisan group of scholars assembled by the Institute for American Values, a New York based nonprofit whose mission is "to study and strengthen civil society."
"From time to time," the council states "a new institution takes root across the country, and in doing so changes the nation — changes the physical landscape of communities, impacts the patterns and habits of daily life, affects citizens' and communities' economic outcomes, and even alters relationships" among its citizens.
That is what casinos are doing, according to the study. States' hunger for casino revenue creates a host of problems, from fostering gambling addiction to draining wealth from lower-income people and contributing to economic inequality in America.
Among the council's key findings:
•Once a largely upper-class activity, casino gambling moved to the mainstream of American life.
•The American casino is primarily filled with highly addictive slot machines. It caters overwhelmingly to middle and low rollers who live within an hour's drive away, return frequently and play the slots.
•Modern slot machines transformed American gambling. They are sophisticated computers, engineered to create fast, continuous betting designed to get players to gamble longer and lose more.
•Problem gamblers (those with moderate and severe gambling addiction) account for 40 percent to 60 percent of slot machine revenue.
•Problem gambling leads to debt, bankruptcies, broken families and crime.
•Casinos extract wealth from communities, weaken nearby businesses and reduce voluntarism, civic participation, family stability and other forms of social capital.
•Casinos are the creation of government and its public policies, have a negative long-term economic impact and constitute a regressive tax.
As the result of the weak economy and growing competition, slot revenue at Connecticut's two casinos is down more than 30 percent from its peak (with the state's share dropping from $430 million annually to under $300 million). With Connecticut's casino monopoly gone and mounting evidence of gambling's negative impact, the state should focus on finding non-gambling revenue to replace its shrinking slot receipts.
Instead, our government appears determined to double down and promote more gambling. It recently increased the casinos' free play allowance so they can beef up promotions and has begun to put the state in the electronic casino gambling business.
Now a study of government-sponsored casino gambling was just published by The Council on Casinos, an independent, nonpartisan group of scholars assembled by the Institute for American Values, a New York based nonprofit whose mission is "to study and strengthen civil society."
"From time to time," the council states "a new institution takes root across the country, and in doing so changes the nation — changes the physical landscape of communities, impacts the patterns and habits of daily life, affects citizens' and communities' economic outcomes, and even alters relationships" among its citizens.
That is what casinos are doing, according to the study. States' hunger for casino revenue creates a host of problems, from fostering gambling addiction to draining wealth from lower-income people and contributing to economic inequality in America.
Among the council's key findings:
•Once a largely upper-class activity, casino gambling moved to the mainstream of American life.
•The American casino is primarily filled with highly addictive slot machines. It caters overwhelmingly to middle and low rollers who live within an hour's drive away, return frequently and play the slots.
•Modern slot machines transformed American gambling. They are sophisticated computers, engineered to create fast, continuous betting designed to get players to gamble longer and lose more.
•Problem gamblers (those with moderate and severe gambling addiction) account for 40 percent to 60 percent of slot machine revenue.
•Problem gambling leads to debt, bankruptcies, broken families and crime.
•Casinos extract wealth from communities, weaken nearby businesses and reduce voluntarism, civic participation, family stability and other forms of social capital.
•Casinos are the creation of government and its public policies, have a negative long-term economic impact and constitute a regressive tax.
As the result of the weak economy and growing competition, slot revenue at Connecticut's two casinos is down more than 30 percent from its peak (with the state's share dropping from $430 million annually to under $300 million). With Connecticut's casino monopoly gone and mounting evidence of gambling's negative impact, the state should focus on finding non-gambling revenue to replace its shrinking slot receipts.
Instead, our government appears determined to double down and promote more gambling. It recently increased the casinos' free play allowance so they can beef up promotions and has begun to put the state in the electronic casino gambling business.
For starters, the Connecticut recently legalized keno (essentially electronic bingo) for restaurants, bars, taverns and convenience stores. The next day a group of legislators proposed installing video slot machines in Connecticut's OTB parlors.
Still more troubling, Nevada and New Jersey recently legalized in-state online gambling for their casinos, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has indicated he favors doing the same for Connecticut's casinos.
The casinos want it to attract a broader and younger audience, and experts view it as particularly addictive because of the fast pace, 24-hour availability and the instant gratification.
The legislature approved keno in the wee morning hours without notice or hearings and after apparently making a secret deal to share the profits with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Given the administration's proclivity for backroom deals, the danger is that Connecticut residents will wake up one morning with video slot parlors and Internet gambling without ever having a chance to voice their opposition.
It is not too late to kill keno and begin a vigorous public debate on the future of state-sponsored gambling in Connecticut.
Robert Steele of Essex was a Republican U.S. congressman from eastern Connecticut from 1970 to 1974 and is the author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town." State Rep. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, is a member of the Public Safety and Security Committee, which oversees gambling.
http://articles.courant.com/2013-10-14/news/hc-op-steele-hwang-connecticut-needs-to-reassess-g-20131014_1_casino-gambling-casino-revenue-slot-machine-revenue
Still more troubling, Nevada and New Jersey recently legalized in-state online gambling for their casinos, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has indicated he favors doing the same for Connecticut's casinos.
The casinos want it to attract a broader and younger audience, and experts view it as particularly addictive because of the fast pace, 24-hour availability and the instant gratification.
The legislature approved keno in the wee morning hours without notice or hearings and after apparently making a secret deal to share the profits with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Given the administration's proclivity for backroom deals, the danger is that Connecticut residents will wake up one morning with video slot parlors and Internet gambling without ever having a chance to voice their opposition.
It is not too late to kill keno and begin a vigorous public debate on the future of state-sponsored gambling in Connecticut.
Robert Steele of Essex was a Republican U.S. congressman from eastern Connecticut from 1970 to 1974 and is the author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town." State Rep. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, is a member of the Public Safety and Security Committee, which oversees gambling.
http://articles.courant.com/2013-10-14/news/hc-op-steele-hwang-connecticut-needs-to-reassess-g-20131014_1_casino-gambling-casino-revenue-slot-machine-revenue
MILFORD CITIZENS FORUM: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30th at 7:00 p.m.
Great speakers! Don't miss this one!
Dear Friends:
We have heard that many of you have not received our notices indicating that we had to reschedule the Citizens Forum on the Casino. This important event was originally scheduled to be held tonight. However, due to our speakers’ availability, we had to change the date.
The Citizens Forum will now be held WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30th at 7:00 p.m. in Upper Town Hall.
The Citizens Forum will include brief presentations by several select speakers:
· Psychologist Tom Larkin will discuss the social impact of casino gambling on a community.
· Former Congressman Robert Steele will share the impacts experienced in Connecticut following the opening of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
· David Morganelli, a tax attorney and member of the Milford Finance Committee, will discuss the host community agreement and its lack of protections.
· And Chairman William D. Buckley will share his own personal opinions regarding the impact of the proposed casino on Milford.
Following the presentations, each of the speakers will sit on a panel and answer questions from the audience.
Get the facts, print and share our forum invitation flyer, and sign up for email updates on CasinoFreeMilford.com. And please forward this email to at least 5 of your friends and neighbors inviting them to join you on Wednesday, October 30th.
Thank you. We look forward to seeing everyone on the 30th.
John Seaver and Steve Trettel
Dear Friends:
We have heard that many of you have not received our notices indicating that we had to reschedule the Citizens Forum on the Casino. This important event was originally scheduled to be held tonight. However, due to our speakers’ availability, we had to change the date.
The Citizens Forum will now be held WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30th at 7:00 p.m. in Upper Town Hall.
The Citizens Forum will include brief presentations by several select speakers:
· Psychologist Tom Larkin will discuss the social impact of casino gambling on a community.
· Former Congressman Robert Steele will share the impacts experienced in Connecticut following the opening of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
· David Morganelli, a tax attorney and member of the Milford Finance Committee, will discuss the host community agreement and its lack of protections.
· And Chairman William D. Buckley will share his own personal opinions regarding the impact of the proposed casino on Milford.
Following the presentations, each of the speakers will sit on a panel and answer questions from the audience.
Get the facts, print and share our forum invitation flyer, and sign up for email updates on CasinoFreeMilford.com. And please forward this email to at least 5 of your friends and neighbors inviting them to join you on Wednesday, October 30th.
Thank you. We look forward to seeing everyone on the 30th.
John Seaver and Steve Trettel
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Slots critics speak out in Plainville
Slots critics speak out in Plainville
Anti-gambling group holds forum ahead of Tuesday's vote
Posted: Sunday, September 8, 2013
BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
PLAINVILLE - Critics of expanded gambling Sunday urged voters to use a town referendum to reject a proposed slot-machine parlor that they said would prey on vulnerable residents without delivering promised economic benefits.
The critics told an anti-gambling forum that Tuesday's referendum on slots at Plainridge Racecourse is a chance for citizens to stop their government from making a tragic mistake.
They said slots will create more problem gamblers, ruin families, decrease property values and make Penn National Gaming money without the town or state getting much in return.
Penn National Gaming of Pennsylvania is the proposed developer of a 1,250-slot facility at the harness track off Route 1.
The firm's proposal and an agreement to pay the town about $4 million a year in fees and taxes in exchange for permission to operate slots is the subject of a ballot question Tuesday. The election is from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Wood School.
The anti-gambling forum Sunday was the last in a series of hearings on various aspects of the proposal.
Les Bernal, executive director of Stop Predatory Gambling, told the forum of about 15 people that the town's own consultant has said that 5 percent of Plainville residents will become problem gamblers if slot machines come to town.
He said that means government officials have determined that ruining the lives of one in 20 Plainville residents is worth the promise of tax revenue and jobs.
"By bringing in slots, you are saying, '384 of your neighbors, your family members, are expendable,'" he said.
Bernal said research shows slot machines are the most addictive form of gambling and cause some people to visit a slots parlor five or six days a week.
He said local-income residents are particularly vulnerable.
Problem gamblers will be lured by offers of free food and free plays to get them addicted, just as tobacco companies used to give out free cigarettes, he said.
He also told the audience that the benefits promised from casinos and slot parlors are a "phony prosperity."
In Illinois, he said, there are 10,000 people on a list of problem gamblers banned from casinos, but only 7,500 casino jobs. "Gambling creates more addicts than jobs," he said.
Representatives of Penn National, which has an option to buy Plainridge if it gets a state slots license, did not attend the forum, but has said it is one of the leading companies in the industry.
Its executives told a previous forum that the company donates millions to charity, its employees are civic minded, and it will create about 400 jobs at Plainridge while also maintaining live horse racing at the site.
But, Bernal and former U.S. Rep. Robert Steele of Connecticut said states and cities that rely on revenue from gambling are in deep financial trouble.
Bernal noted that Connecticut, with two large casinos, is rated 49th in the nation in fiscal stability, while Rhode Island, with gambling in Newport and at Twin River, is a "financial mess."
Steele said he knows first-hand the negative effects gambling has on a community.
He said he used to live on the border of the Pequot Reservation where Foxwoods Resort Casino is located in Connecticut.
Property values went down and traffic increased while drunk driving arrests increased dramatically when the casino was built, he said.
Steele has written a novel titled "The Curse....," which tells a fictional tale of a small New England town seduced by the lure of casino gambling, similar to the experience in Connecticut.
But, he said the consequences of gambling are all too real.
The tax collector in his town was indicted for embezzling $302,000 to pay for her slot machine addiction, he said.
Revenue to the state from the casinos has also dwindled in recent years because of competition. Now, he said, Connecticut is considering expanding to more forms of gambling because it is addicted to the money.
Penn National needs an affirmative vote in Tuesday's referendum to continue the process of applying for a state license.
It focused its sights on Plainridge only recently after losing a rezoning vote in Tewksbury.
The option it has obtained from the Plainridge owners will only be exercised if it gets the slots license.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/slots-critics-speak-out-in-plainville/article_b9b120d7-5c31-590c-ba84-f60dbce7ce1e.html
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Robert Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town, to speak at Sept. 8 Forum
Great book!
It's a 'MUST READ'!
Finally the author, Robert Steele is speaking where many of us can attend! Mark your calendars.
Robert Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town, to speak at Sept. 8 Forum
It's a 'MUST READ'!
Finally the author, Robert Steele is speaking where many of us can attend! Mark your calendars.
Robert Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town, to speak at Sept. 8 Forum
BREAKING NEWS:
Former CT congressman Robert Steele, author of "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s
Seduction of a Small New England Town," will be a guest speaker at our forum on
Sunday, September 8th, 4-6pm at the Plainville Senior Center, 9 School Street, Plainville, MA..
The Book – The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town (Levellers Press). The Curse is a novel set against the explosion of casino gambling that hit Connecticut during the 1990s, when two Indian tribes built the world’s two biggest casinos in the southeastern corner of the state. WBZ’s Dan Rea calls the novel “powerful” and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro has described it as “compelling and timely…an epic story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed.”
Timeliness – The book comes at a time when Massachusetts is in the process of selecting sites for three major casinos and a slots parlor, increasing casino saturation is changing the dynamics of the casino industry, and casino revenues are falling in Connecticut and other Northeastern markets.
Author – Robert Steele is vice chairman of an international marketing agency and has been a director of numerous companies, including the American Stock Exchange. A graduate of Amherst College and Columbia University, he served in the CIA and Congress (2nd District, CT) and was a candidate for governor of Connecticut.
Book Availability – The book is available in softcover from Amazon and the publisher (www.levellerspress.com) and as an ebook from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Read more at http://www.rhsteele.com/
The Book – The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town (Levellers Press). The Curse is a novel set against the explosion of casino gambling that hit Connecticut during the 1990s, when two Indian tribes built the world’s two biggest casinos in the southeastern corner of the state. WBZ’s Dan Rea calls the novel “powerful” and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro has described it as “compelling and timely…an epic story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed.”
Timeliness – The book comes at a time when Massachusetts is in the process of selecting sites for three major casinos and a slots parlor, increasing casino saturation is changing the dynamics of the casino industry, and casino revenues are falling in Connecticut and other Northeastern markets.
Author – Robert Steele is vice chairman of an international marketing agency and has been a director of numerous companies, including the American Stock Exchange. A graduate of Amherst College and Columbia University, he served in the CIA and Congress (2nd District, CT) and was a candidate for governor of Connecticut.
Book Availability – The book is available in softcover from Amazon and the publisher (www.levellerspress.com) and as an ebook from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Read more at http://www.rhsteele.com/
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