The two “no” casino votes last Tuesday showed yet another deeply polarizing issue that, unlike the Affordable Care Act, national security or immigration reform, is way, way local, and the nastier for it.
On one side are the casino advocates who want – not necessarily in this order – the jobs, property tax relief and amenities such as additional police and fire personnel that developers promise. On the other side are those who don’t want the infrastructure and socio-economic disruption that would come from reconfiguring significant chunks of land, and an exacerbation and growth of gambling problems.
They also question whether casino developers would be able to keep their promises to their host communities if casino revenues slump, which already happened in Connecticut as a result of the recession that started in 2008. Thousands of casino workers were laid off, and their prospects for finding jobs in the rural local economies were about as slim as winning a Powerball jackpot if you only buy one ticket. Most people who buy tickets don’t do that math.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission might be taking in an application from Suffolk Downs for a re-planned casino, which would have the casino take over a 52-acre site in Revere after its East Boston proposal was voted down by a 56-44 percent margin. The commission indicates that it doesn’t think a complete proposal can be refiled before the Dec. 31 deadline, and is reluctant to extend that deadline in fairness to the casino developers who submitted their proposals on time.
About 77 miles to the west in Palmer, a razor thin casino defeat is being challenged by Mohegan Sun, which has had an informational office in Palmer since 2009. Mohegan Sun has ordered a recount. The proposal there was to build a casino on a hill overlooking the Massachusetts Turnpike and to reconfigure Pike exit 8 to handle the extra traffic, with $16 million of that mitigation financed by the developer. Sounds like a great concept until you take into consideration the terrain work that would be needed to bring customers uphill and then downhill safely and successfully, but all that and the liability, too, was going to be the developer’s problem.
In an economic environment in which rock-bottom interest rates have grievously affected the investment returns of individuals and municipalities, is it any wonder that the casino debate got so heated? But in staking our financial future on gambling, we should remember what’s already been said about state lotteries – they’re a tax on people who aren’t very good at math.
