So it looks like Beacon Hill is finally going to give its blessing to casino gambling. Now let the real fun and games begin.
Yes, it may have taken years for state lawmakers to choose which flavor of gambling to go with – glitzy destination casinos or down and dirty racetrack slots? But all that silly wrangling on Beacon Hill may turn to out to be child’s play compared to the local approval gauntlet facing would-be casino developers hoping to build in Massachusetts, the world’s NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) capital.
In a state where trying to build an affordable apartment project can get you branded a capitalist pig, the idea that fast-talking casino developers are going to get a free ride is beyond ludicrous.
Even the hucksters who have spent years trying to sell the locals on their casino plans in East Boston and Milford are going to have to dodge their share of rotten tomatoes – let alone the Vegas tycoons fresh to the blood sport we call real estate development here in Massachusetts.
Really, if anyone thinks this is going to be a quick jackpot for the state, think again.
The Bigger They Are…
A poll by Western New England College says it all. While 56 percent of Bay State residents surveyed last year wanted casinos legalized, almost as many – 53 percent – didn’t want them in their home towns.
“The results show that a majority of Bay State residents still want casinos, but not necessarily where they live,” Tim Vercellotti, director of the Polling Institute and an associate professor of political science at Western New England College, said at the time.
Let’s face it, we just don’t like it when anyone tries to build just about anything around here.
Utter the phrase “affordable apartments” in just about any town in suburban Boston and you’ll have a fight on your hands with NIMBYs yelling out about overcrowded schools. “Those damned rug rats – not in our town!”
In fact, there is no project so innocuous that it would escape the wrath of our ever vigilant NIMBY warriors – whether it’s a new dorm in Boston or, my favorite, a plan to expand a horse farm in bucolic Westwood that left the neighbors apoplectic with rage.
The top guns in Vegas have money to burn, to be sure. Maybe even more than Chicago hotel billionaire Nick Pritzker, who spent years feuding with petty South Boston pols and environmental activists in a failed bid to turn a bunch of ugly parking lots on South Boston’s waterfront into a world-class development.
Only after Pritzker bailed was Joe Fallon, a veteran Boston developer and quiet insider who knew all the political ropes, able to get the multibillion project on track.
But the bevy of Vegas developers now eyeing Massachusetts – Steve Wynn and Penn National to name two – are likely to find out what Pritzker learned the hard way: When it comes to development in the Bay State, the bigger the name, the bigger the target.
That leaves us with the handful of shrewd gambling developers who, while they may not be household names, have spent years amassing real estate and wooing local officials in jobs-hungry neighborhoods and towns across Massachusetts.
But these guys shouldn’t get too cocky, either.
While they may think they have all the locals in their pockets, the acid test will come when casino gambling is finally legalized in Massachusetts, possibly as soon as this month.
That’s when everyone who slept through the debate – that is everyone but a few political junkies and state and local officials – finally wakes up and freaks out at the idea a massive gambling hall could open up down the street.
Promises, Promises
In fact, the casino legislation now moving forward on Beacon Hill opens up this turkey shoot not just to the next door neighbors of proposed slot palaces, but to anyone with an axe to grind in all the towns surrounding a planned casino.
This could be a particularly big problem for veteran developer David Nunes, who has spent years winning over Milford officials to support his proposed casino near Interstate 495, only to have to win over critics in other, wealthier western suburbs.
Nor can Mohegan Sun or Suffolk Downs expect a smooth ride, either. Mohegan has been laying it on thick in Palmer, and Suffolk Downs has a deal with Caesars’ Entertainment.
Suffolk’s owners, including some top local businessmen, may have the ear of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, but fighting your way through traffic on Route 1A to get to the track is already a nightmare. Clearly some expensive infrastructure work will be needed.
And we haven’t even gotten to the Mashpee Wampanoag, wandering across Southeastern Massachusetts in hope of landing a new casino site after blowing a deal cut a few years ago with Middleborough officials.
It’s hard enough winning over one town, but having to win over several other ornery New England towns and neighborhoods is a prescription for gridlock.
So where does that leave all those grand promises – made so freely by Gov. Patrick and legislative leaders – of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue and thousands of badly needed jobs?
At best, we are talking about a few years just to get one or two casinos through the local and state permitting process, followed by another two years of construction.
At worst, we could wind up watching another trio of Fan Piers play out across the Massachusetts landscape, grand projects with glitzy designs and big name developers who spend years bumbling through the local political and permitting process, never seeming to get anywhere.
After all, this is Massachusetts. And how dare you consider building here!
