Loaded Question-Casino (Boston, Springfield, New Bedford: hotels, house, employment) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

capecodcathy · 09-17-2007, 09:51 AM

In advance of Gov. Deval Patrick announcing his plans/support at noon today, what are your thoughts on the Casino plans?
According to the newscasts, he's welcoming three. SEMASS, West and North/Boston.
Whaddya think?

Mr.Mortgage · 09-17-2007, 10:05 AM

I may be naive, but I don't think anyone, outside of the casino owners and the respective towns, will be affected by the casinos - and for them, It seems to be all benefit. That's not to say that personal lives won't be sacrificed by gambling. However, people with that appetite already have our State feeding them a full diet of scratch tickets and drawings.

surfingatwork · 09-17-2007, 12:47 PM

Personally speaking I do not want a casino in middleborough especially since I live in one of the surrounding towns. a casino is going to change the look and feel of this peaceful, rural section of massachusetts and not in a good way. very few residential homes will be affected in this particular section of middleboro but the surrounding towns will most certainly bear the brunt of the traffic. over time developers are going to come in and gobble up the land and build homes which in turn will bring more people and children putting a burden on our schools and possibly becoming over crowded so surrounding towns will have to build new schools (which we already just did) causing our taxes to increase. yup you guessed it i'm not happy.

Noodle · 09-17-2007, 01:05 PM

It's already that way in Mass. Another New Jersey pretty soon. Not cuttin' on Jersey, but some area's there are at saturation point. Where I live in western mass, you wouldn't believe the hayfields and wooded sections that are being bulldozed and housed over. Sad, really. They come in and put up their McMansions. Does anybody build a three room ranch anymore? Where's Al Gore on the gas guzzling house issue? Hmmm?? He's a lousy hypocrtical role model for that anyway.
Sorry for the hijacking, But on the Casino issue, it was only a matter of time. Kinda hard watching all that money leave the state. With casinos such a close proximity being in CT and all, I doubt any new habitual gamblers are gonna be created by all this. As for the affected areas, it seems like a political thing as far as where they will actually be located. Of course, it's always a political thing in Mass. isn't it?
Just sayin'

surfingatwork · 09-17-2007, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noodle

It's already that way in Mass. Another New Jersey pretty soon. Not cuttin' on Jersey, but some area's there are at saturation point. Where I live in western mass, you wouldn't believe the hayfields and wooded sections that are being bulldozed and housed over. Sad, really. They come in and put up their McMansions. Does anybody build a three room ranch anymore? Where's Al Gore on the gas guzzling house issue? Hmmm?? He's a lousy hypocrtical role model for that anyway.
Sorry for the hijacking, But on the Casino issue, it was only a matter of time. Kinda hard watching all that money leave the state. With casinos such a close proximity being in CT and all, I doubt any new habitual gamblers are gonna be created by all this. As for the affected areas, it seems like a political thing as far as where they will actually be located. Of course, it's always a political thing in Mass. isn't it?
Just sayin'

not all of mass is like that (yet). southeastern mass still has a lot farmland and open space. in my 5 mile drive from the highway to home I pass on a daily basis 3 farms, a golf course, a christmas tree farm and a wonderful park that has ball fields, tennis courts, hiking trails, horseshoes, basketball and a section for rollerskating. It's so nice to see to see hay bales covering the farm land. it's a shame that in 10 years probably all gonna be gone to development thanks in part to the casino. New Bedford is better suited for a casino than Middleborough.

pjscdn · 09-17-2007, 08:23 PM

I don't think casinos are a good idea. To me, it a quality of life issue. I believe the negatives outweigh the positives.

The only positive, and the only rationale the Patrick administration would even consider the idea, is for the revenue. The 2 casinos in CT next door pull in hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and I'm sure our legislators have noticed this untapped money source. And if the tax revenue is used to fund popular programs without raising taxes, then it has a chance to gain acceptance with the voters. But , to make it all work, the state would need to manage this business very carefully.

But, I think there's other aspects that outweigh any casinos

- Casinos do not generate wealth; they redistribute wealth. They do not create a tangible good or service that has a market value, or something that can be imported or exported

- The state will begin to create budgets and spending plans based on revenue projections from casinos, musch like NJ, andI question the merit of this process

- It seems most of the wealth is redistributed towards a lucky few - those who own the casinos (the CT casino developers are billionaires), and perhaps a few winners

- The jobs created are low-level jobs requiring minimal skills. MA is an expensive state to live in. I question whether the casinos will pay a living wage. Will the government enforce high employment standards as part of the agreement, or go for the biggest financial impact, and let the casinos set those standards?

- I can think of very few communities that really want a casino built in their town. The issue caused a big controversy in Middleboro recently. Even downtrodden Springfield voters turned down just the initial referendum on casinos a few years ago. How will the Patrick administration determine negotiate the placement of the casinos? It's interesting to see what reaction the towns around Foxwoods & Mohegan Sun have to this.

- Casinos can have a negative impact on property values. Who really wants to raise their family near a casino, regardless of the tax stream?

- Would businesses choose not to locate in MA because of the casino presence? Would a high-tech firm trying to recruit talent find resistance to relocating to a state that support state-run high-stakes gambling?

- How many casinos can a geographic area really support? Will they begin to aggresively compete for the same limited clientele? Atlantic City has already seen the failure of some of its casino business.

- What type of crowd will these establishments create? Most people with higher education understand the odds of winning. Will they choose the casino over other places to spend their disposable income?

Lastly, I've visited Las Vegas and Foxwoods on business in the not too distant past. I find it depressing. I recall young children hanging around the casinos late at night while their parents gambled - a very sad sight. I recall lots of offers for prostitutes and other vices, despite laws to the contrary. I just don't see that image as a good fit for Massachusetts.

twiggy · 09-18-2007, 10:29 AM

I hate the Casinos they have opened up in Arizona. It has ruined a lot of residential neighborhoods. People are driving drunk at all hours, it draws a lot of losers. It's like a giant bar, with extra curricular activities. It starts attracting adult book stores and such. Hotels, and they don't usually have the decency to make the building blend in with the landscape. They are usually large glowing things. Ours are run by the Indians though, I don't know about Gov., run casinos. Thats just a little weird to me. They just told our neighborhood they are planning another casino in our area. I hope to not be here for it, but I was planning on moving to the Cape, am I going to move next to a casino? Casino's in MA? Thats just wrong. It's like porno at grandmas. lol

pjscdn · 09-18-2007, 10:59 AM

Twiggy,

Assuming the governor can muster the votes to push this proposal through, which at this stage is hard to gauge, it's very unlikely a casino would be targeted for Cape Cod. The proposed locations at this very early stage appear to be targeting areas where land is less expensive and less affluent.

The controversy was created by one Indian tribe in the state gaining recognition from Washington. MA doesn't have the same Indian population size, organization or reservations that AZ has, so the process is different. If you look under the covers, you'll find investors are behind the scenes in trying to get the tribes recognized. I'm not sure if that is the situation in AZ as well.

Since the MA politicians, and every other informed person, know the recognition process is driven by business interests, and the Indians are really just pawns, the thinking is the state will set the expectations with the investors. It remains to be seen how successful that is. Tax windfalls, like gambling, is addictive.

If you want to follow the action, try Boston.com for the latest.

twiggy · 09-18-2007, 11:28 PM

Cool, very useful. Thanks, I will follow the info. AZ is becoming over run with casinos, and our states hands are defiantly in the bag, so to speak. I believe it's the same in AZ. This started about 10 years ago, and once they get a taste for it, it keeps growing. The politicians love to gamble I guess.
We have a dozen or more casino's now.