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Old 08-14-2018, 12:28 PM
 
405 posts, read 256,990 times
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Since Springfield is under represented on the board, how about a rambling thread about the goings on here?



Let's start with the casino


Go!
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Old 08-14-2018, 01:51 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,656 posts, read 28,654,132 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IWLC View Post
Since Springfield is under represented on the board, how about a rambling thread about the goings on here?



Let's start with the casino


Go!
I always thought WMass should have its own sub forum. Oh well, that's not gonna happen.

I reserve judgement on what's going to happen to Springfield. Long ago, I used to love the place. I was born there. I don't care for casinos and I don't think that's the answer but, of course, maybe that's just my own nostalgia for a place that will never be the same as it was. Places change.

I would go there once to check out the casino and see what it's like but I have no interest in gambling. I am concerned about how this will affect traffic in the area.

Has the casino down in SE CT really made a difference for that area? It's brought in tax revenue but did it actually help the surrounding towns? I don't know. I don't think it had much effect though.

Where will all the poor people who inhabit Springfield go now? Hartford? Is there a possibility that we can get anything better than a casino? It was a great city, it's right on a major river, has a major highway, is near the MA Pike, has one of the best parks anywhere--it has a lot going for it but no one so far has been able to revive it. Added to that is the rampant corruption that will probably rear its ugly head again. Wondering.
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Old 08-14-2018, 02:01 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts & Hilton Head, SC
10,007 posts, read 15,647,185 times
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I don't see how any good can come from building a casino in a place that's already high crime. I think they are better off put in the boonies like the ones in Connecticut. We shall see.
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Old 08-14-2018, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Baltimore
21,628 posts, read 12,718,846 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
I always thought WMass should have its own sub forum. Oh well, that's not gonna happen.

I reserve judgement on what's going to happen to Springfield. Long ago, I used to love the place. I was born there. I don't care for casinos and I don't think that's the answer but, of course, maybe that's just my own nostalgia for a place that will never be the same as it was. Places change.

I would go there once to check out the casino and see what it's like but I have no interest in gambling. I am concerned about how this will affect traffic in the area.

Has the casino down in SE CT really made a difference for that area? It's brought in tax revenue but did it actually help the surrounding towns? I don't know. I don't think it had much effect though.

Where will all the poor people who inhabit Springfield go now? Hartford? Is there a possibility that we can get anything better than a casino? It was a great city, it's right on a major river, has a major highway, is near the MA Pike, has one of the best parks anywhere--it has a lot going for it but no one so far has been able to revive it. Added to that is the rampant corruption that will probably rear its ugly head again. Wondering.
They’re staying in Springfield that’s like asking where were all the poor people in Atlantic City go...Especially with Windsor Windsor locks planning another casino in central Connecticut..If anything they’ll go to Holyoke in Chicopee because it’s easier to love there than having to get a new license, new plates and stuff across the border
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Old 08-14-2018, 02:20 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,656 posts, read 28,654,132 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaseyB View Post
I don't see how any good can come from building a casino in a place that's already high crime. I think they are better off put in the boonies like the ones in Connecticut. We shall see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade View Post
They’re staying in Springfield that’s like asking where were all the poor people in Atlantic City go...Especially with Windsor Windsor locks planning another casino in central Connecticut..If anything they’ll go to Holyoke in Chicopee because it’s easier to love there than having to get a new license, new plates and stuff across the border
I think it's a stupid place to plop a casino. Took a long time to supposedly rid Springfield of the mob. I was talking to some guys from Indian Orchard (Spfld) and when I said that, they replied, "They never DID get rid of the mob." So this sounds like an open invitation for the mob to make a comeback. They always inhabited the South End of Springfield. How convenient.

If they really wanted to have a casino it should have gone in Palmer. Down trodden area that failed when the paper mills closed, connected to Ware, which is one of the worst towns in the entire state--those people could have benefitted from the jobs. Palmer has its own exit on the Mass Pike and is in between Worcester and Springfield. Palmer is enough out of the way that any ill effects of casinos wouldn't have hurt anyone and yet it accessible to people who wanted to get there. Similar to the casinos in CT.

Poor people will have to move to Holyoke or Chicopee. I hope CT doesn't put another casino in Windsor Locks. Can't anyone think of other ways to raise revenue? What did we do before casinos? With so many of them, I think they will just cancel each other out.
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Old 08-14-2018, 07:41 PM
 
405 posts, read 256,990 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CaseyB View Post
I don't see how any good can come from building a casino in a place that's already high crime. I think they are better off put in the boonies like the ones in Connecticut. We shall see.

Casinos are all over the country in much higher crime areas than the South end - thinking New Orleans and Detroit (both MGM casinos) off the top of my head. There are hundreds of casinos in the country with no rise in crime. They are pretty much a closed venue - you drive into the parking garage, take the elevator down.
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Old 08-14-2018, 07:46 PM
 
405 posts, read 256,990 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
I was talking to some guys from Indian Orchard (Spfld) and when I said that, they replied, "They never DID get rid of the mob." So this sounds like an open invitation for the mob to make a comeback. They always inhabited the South End of Springfield. How convenient.

The big casino corporations are pretty immune to the mob. MGM operates casinos in areas where THEIR mob makes Springfield look like kiddie land. Many people have an outdated 'old time Vegas' image of the casino business. It's more like Disney now. Super efficient and highly skilled in doing what they do. They have no interest in being the target of the IRS and FBI.
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Old 08-14-2018, 08:07 PM
 
405 posts, read 256,990 times
Reputation: 1031
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post

I would go there once to check out the casino and see what it's like but I have no interest in gambling. I am concerned about how this will affect traffic in the area.

Has the casino down in SE CT really made a difference for that area? It's brought in tax revenue but did it actually help the surrounding towns? I don't know. I don't think it had much effect though.

I think the traffic will be a nightmare initially, but slow to a trickle. It's not like a sporting event where everyone comes and leaves at the same time. Mohegan Sun is many times the size of MGM and I've never seen any heavy traffic - and I was there every week for years as part of my job.


I'm not sure why so much responsibility is placed on a casino to make a huge difference in an area. What other business is expected to fix all a city's failings? The 3,000 people they've hired so far are probably happy to be employed. As were the hundreds of well paid union craftsmen who built the place. Purchasing all restaurant and bar supplies from Kitterege (when they probably have suppliers they've dealt with for decades) made a difference to that business. The contract they signed with Park Cleaners to handle their uniform cleaning. The contracts with Frigos, Iron Duke Brewing, White Lion Brewery, Yankee Mattress Company, AC Produce, Bernadinos, Tougias, Hood, Chicopee Provisions, Performance Food Group - all have a major impact on their businesses and will probably result in more hiring.


I doubt I'll throw a penny in a slot machine, but this is the first major investment in a business in Springfield since.....? Of course actually having PEOPLE downtown will cause traffic, but the alternative is the ghost town we have now. As far as "can't we have something better?". The casino doesn't preclude any other business from opening downtown if they choose, but I haven't seen them lining up to do that for a few decades now.
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Old 08-14-2018, 08:45 PM
 
Location: The ghetto
17,677 posts, read 9,155,986 times
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IWLC, who decides who gets all those contracts (especially construction)?
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Old 08-15-2018, 04:30 AM
 
405 posts, read 256,990 times
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Originally Posted by redplum33 View Post
IWLC, who decides who gets all those contracts (especially construction)?

MGM is a private business and I'm sure they take proposals like any other business does. Who builds Walmarts? Malls? Who provides hot dog buns to Disney? I'm sure it's based on who has the ability to handle a project of that size and at the most competitive price.
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