Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Ka-ching! DeLeo is in for resort casinos

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House Speaker Bob DeLeo has announced that, in addition to favoring slots at the racetracks, he now also favors resort casinos.  No details yet on where or how many, but it does appear likelier than ever that resort casinos are coming to a rural location near you.

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  1.  The dog tracks will be closing. Then what? The three casinos to our south are in financial straits. I have no confidence whatsoever in our state’s ability to reverse this downward trend.

  2. Predatory gambling proponents use the term “resort casino” because it polls significantly better in public opinion surveys than “slot machines at the racetracks” as reflected by this recent Boston Globe poll.

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    p>When the Bethlehem (PA) Sands casino was proposed to be built on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel, once a symbol of America’s industrial might, the something for nothing schemers promised a massive hotel and retail “resort” complex. Yet after the project received its approvals, they shelved those plans in 2008 because of “the economy” yet they still opened the casino itself. Almost one year later, the hotel and retail complex are still on the shelf yet the casino is presently looking to expand its number of slot machines.

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    p>There are many well-intentioned public officials and media who promote predatory gambling with the belief it can fund public services and be a source of job growth despite knowing virtually nothing about the product itself, its business model and the marketing behind it. Because if they did, most would be strong opponents.

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    p>Bernie Madoff made a lot of money and employed a lot of people but virtually no one would say today that’s the kind of economic model we want for our state and our country.

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    p>Predatory gambling is a something for nothing scheme that relies on out-of-control and heavily indebted people to make its money.

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    p>Casino capitalism and the era of phony prosperity are over.    

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    p>Les Bernal

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    p>

    • But you have to admit that a resort casino is fundamentally different from a warehouse-like structure that holds slot machines and nothing else.

      • But if it’s different like you suggest, then let’s have the proponents open up their books and explain their business model in which 90% of their gambling profits come from 10% of the gamblers.

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        p>Have them explain why they relentlessly market to people who take money out of casino ATMs – people who lost all the money they came with and then chase their losses.

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        p>Have them explain why they use highly sophisticated consumer loyalty technology that tracks how fast people play a slot machine and how much money they wager and lose each time.

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        p>And have them explain what their process is for lending “markers” – money the casino lends people who are out of cash on the casino floor.

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        p>Massachusetts already has resorts. What the public does not know about is the casino business model, the design and technology behind electronic gambling machines and the predatory marketing that comes along with it.

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        p>Les Bernal  

  3. is treading on my last nerve. I can’t believe we’d be fighting this fight again.

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    p>But fight it we will. How badly does DeLeo want to look like a loser, anyhow?

  4. who knew?

    INDUSTRY LEADERS ADDRESS ‘BEST PRACTICES’ IN GAMBLING: As state lawmakers mull bringing expanded gaming to the Bay State, gambling industry leaders headline a day-long forum on “best practices” in the industry. They include Jeff Hartmann, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Mohegan Sun; Richard Dalton, president and CEO of Wonderland Greyhound Park; Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer of Suffolk Downs; Walter Sullivan, chair of the State Racing Commission; Kathleen Scanlan, executive director of the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling; and Howard Shaffer, director of the Division on Addictions at the Cambridge Health Alliance. Officials from the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, the Missouri Gaming Commission and the Responsible Gambling Council of Ontario also attend. A long-time backer of slots at the racetracks, House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Friday said he would back bringing resort casinos to Massachusetts too. (Monday, 9:30 a.m., Suffolk Downs Racetrack, 111 Waldemar Ave., East Boston)

    From State House News Service

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