Tag: Middleborough

Gov. Deval Patrick, who is trying to foist three gambling casinos on the state, wants to make it a criminal offense — punishable by up to two years in prison and a $25,000 fine — to place a bet over the Internet. Crime, traffic and the associated disruption caused by a casino coming to your town? No problem. Gambling in the privacy of your home? Problem.

“If you were cynical about it, you’d think that they’re trying to set up a monopoly for the casinos,” David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, tells the Boston Globe’s Matt Viser.

Well, by all means, let’s be cynical about it. What could this possibly be about other than making sure the state scoops up every available nickel produced by gambling?

Among other things, Patrick’s go-straight-to-jail provision has managed to alienate U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, who had spoken in favor of Patrick’s casino plan just recently. Frank tells the Globe, “Why is gambling in a casino OK and gambling on the Internet is not? He’s making a big mistake. He’s giving opponents an argument against him.” Nice work, Governor.

In two other casino-related developments, it appears that the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is moving backwards in its bid to build a casino in Middleborough.

First, Boston Herald reporter Scott Van Voorhis writes that federal regulators may move to take some of the allure out of the high-stakes video bingo parlors that Indian tribes are allowed to open even in the face of state opposition. The idea is that such bingo games would have to look more like bingo and less like slot machines. This could damage the argument advanced by some pro-casino forces that if Patrick’s proposal is defeated, the Mashpee will open a sort-of casino anyway.

Van Voorhis’ piece is a follow-up to a story first broken on Oct. 29 by George Brennan in the Cape Cod Times.

Second, tribal leaders have reportedly been talking out of both sides of their mouths on the matter of whether they will enter the Patrick sweepstakes or instead pursue their gambling plans under the federal route. Boston magazine’s Jason Schwartz explains.

The most recent version of my standard disclosure.

Someone was asking me a little while ago if the Casinofacts.org fundraiser is still on. Yes indeed. It’s scheduled for next Thursday, Nov. 15, at 6:30 7 p.m. at the Fireside Grille in Middleborough. I’m supposed to speak at some point, but don’t worry — I plan to keep it lite and short. Hope to see you there.

Last week it was “objectivity.” This week it’s a complaint that the Massachusetts House shouldn’t hold a hearing into the harmful effects of gambling because, well, you know, it would hurt Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposal to open three casinos in the state. Here’s what state Sen. Michael Morrissey, D-Quincy, a gambling supporter, told Boston Globe reporter Andrea Estes:

If you’re going to give the guy a fair shake, you should schedule a hearing on the casino bill and then, if necessary, ask other committees to hold hearings. Have the governor’s bill up first and go from there.

Somewhere in the background, Jack Nicholson is sneering, “You can’t handle the truth.”

Fortunately, House Speaker Sal DiMasi is less interested in giving Patrick “a fair shake” and more interested in educating his members and the public about the downside of casino gambling.

As DiMasi’s spokesman, David Guarino, told Estes, “The governor has proposed opening the door to a casino culture in the Commonwealth. We think it’s imperative to look at what that will really mean, warts and all.”

My standard disclosure.

From the moment that Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled his casino proposal, those of us who are focused on Middleborough have wondered what would happen.

The Mashpee Wampanoags, as a federally recognized tribe, could build a gambling facility without taking part in the state process, thus avoiding the state taxes Patrick wants to collect. But because the federal process can take so long, the Mashpee could risk having to compete with two nearby casinos before their own facility could even open.

Now, in a sign that the Mashpee’s political advisers believe Patrick’s plan has become bogged down, the Boston Daily blog reports that the tribe has decided to take the federal route. If that’s the case, then casino opponents will have their hands full. Opposition to Patrick’s plan by the Massachusetts House is necessary, but it may not be sufficient. There are enough questions over the dubious process by which the Middleborough deal was approved that it ought to be possible to delay things for years. But who knows?

Meanwhile, the New Bedford Standard-Times covers the fledgling Casino Free Mass, a new statewide coalition that held its first public event yesterday.

And I’ll be helping Casino Free Mass on Nov. 15.

Daniel Gross writes in Slate that gambling is on the wane in Las Vegas, even as Gov. Deval Patrick tries to bring it here. Does Las Vegas know something that Patrick doesn’t?

Meanwhile, Casinofacts.org, formed to fight the proposed Middleborough casino, is going statewide at a rally on Beacon Hill this Monday. In a statement on its Web site, the organization’s president, Rich Young, says:

The coalition is a combination of religious groups, mental health organizations, business groups, social service agencies and citizen activist groups. They will be coming together under one banner to oppose the Governor’s plan to put casinos in three communities in Massachusetts. This is the start of the first organized opposition to this flawed “economic model”.

Casinofacts.org has been at the forefront of this coalition. We were asked to participate in the planning, development and will be active members in the ongoing campaign. I want you also to know that yesterday the coalition decided to structure their organization with a President and a Board of Directors. I was asked and will serve as the President of the Coalition.

Monday begins the fight on a wider scope. No longer is this just about Southeastern Massachusetts. This is about every one of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns being put up to bid. The Governor is wrong on this issue and we must rise up against this plan.

The New Bedford Standard-Times weighs in as well.

Hat tip on both items to Cape Cod Today, whose blogger/reporter Peter Kenney was recently nominated for a Best of the Blogs award for his relentless work on this subject.

My standard disclosure.

The Boston Herald’s Casey Ross reports that pro-casino legislators are trying to steer Gov. Deval Patrick’s three-casino proposal away from the Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, whose House chairman, Rep. Dan Bosley, D-North Adams, opposes casinos.

Ross writes that casino supporters wonder if Bosley can be “objective,” and he quotes Rep. John Quinn, D-New Bedford:

If we want a fair and open hearing, I’m not sure [Bosley’s] committee is the one that can provide it. I have tremendous respect for the chairman, but this is an issue that impacts the entire commonwealth, and we ought to treat it appropriately.

It seems not to have occurred to Quinn — or maybe it has — that the reason Bosley is such a staunch opponent of casinos is that he’s studied the issue more closely and for a longer time than anyone else in the Legislature.

Bosley understands that casino gambling is bad news, and he’s got the data to back it up. That doesn’t make him non-objective; it makes him right.

And no, I’m not objective, either.

A Middleborough developer who pays $29,000 a year in taxes to the town wants some of his money back. The reason? The proposed casino is croaking his business. Eileen Reece reports in the Brockton Enterprise:

The developer, whose units are located near the site of the proposed casino, has had problems selling the units as prospective buyers are unsure how close their homes will be to the casino, explained [Selectman Adam] Bond.

“This is a true, dead center, right-on negative impact,” said Bond, who was instrumental in negotiating the casino contract with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

It’s impossible to judge the veracity of this claim, since Bond wouldn’t identify the name of the developer. The selectmen, naturally, are already trying to figure out whether they can deal with the developer in secret.

But Bond, who wants to be town manager despite lacking the minimum qualifications for the job, isn’t exactly known for saying a discouraging word about the proposed casino. So this seems pretty credible, at least on the surface.

My standard disclosure.

Gov. Deval Patrick appears to have completely alienated State Treasurer Tim Cahill over his casino-gambling proposal — and Cahill’s a casino supporter. But that’s OK — the numbers don’t add up anyway (see this and this).

With the casino legislation smoldering around him, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Newton, picks the perfect time to say he favors casino gambling.

Finally, the Boston Daily blog is going to start flogging the casino story without mercy. So stay tuned.

Update: As of Wednesday night, the Herald reports that Patrick is trying to make amends with Cahill.

My standard disclosure.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says Gov. Deval Patrick is being too optimistic about how much revenue his casino plan would generate. How optimistic? Boston Globe reporter Matt Viser writes:

Patrick has proposed using half of the $400 million in annual proceeds to provide income tax credits of an average of $200 to nearly 1 million state residents whose local property tax bills are 2.5 percent or more of their annual income. The other half would be spent on improving roads and bridges.

But based on Patrick’s other plans for spending the casino revenues, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation projects that only between $115 million and $133.8 million would be available for property tax relief — not $200 million.

Likewise, the foundation said, the $200 million that Patrick expects to be available for transportation improvements also would not fully materialize.

As the foundation notes, other states are not going to sit still and let Massachusetts reap all the ill-gotten gains for itself. You can be sure that Connecticut will do something to hold on to its regional monopoly. And New Hampshire is likely to react as well, as state Sen. Susan Tucker, D-Andover, warned at a recent MassINC forum.

At least casino visitors won’t get lung cancer. David Kibbe explains.

Disclosure: I’ll be the guest speaker at a fundraising event on Nov. 15 for Casinofacts.org, the leading anti-casino organization in Middleborough. The event will be held at the Fireside Grille, and will get under way at 6:30 p.m.