Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

“It was a ploy all along”

By

The first warning is for all the politicians who think this is so wonderful.  

The issue was one reason why Joseph A. Montalbano, the Democratic president of the State Senate who represented Lincoln but advocated strongly for Twin River’s expansion, was unseated in 2008 by a political newcomer, Edward O’Neill, an independent.

So the Senate President was kicked out of office because the people back home decided that 24/7 slots and gambling is a mistake  So you can go from being Speaker Senate President a leader to being out of job that quickly?  Those fickle voters!   Are you listening, Beacon Hill ?

The second is a warning for us – about how the casino companies play states off against each other.  

In 2006, voters defeated a constitutional amendment to legalize table games and allow for casinos without racetracks. But Jan Laverty Jones, a Harrah’s senior vice president, said the state may be motivated now to give the company a shot because Massachusetts is on the brink of legalizing casinos.

So the arms dealers are encouraging an arms race ….

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  1. Lincoln Park was under indictment at the time it was sold. Initially, charges were to be dropped if MGM bought it but Kerzner’s son, who was killed in a plane crash negotiated the deal that provides the very lucrative return to the State of RI to which the state is now addicted.

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    p>There are other racinos in Colorado that came with the package.

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    p>The RI partners invested a lot of money to keep Harrah’s out of RI and defeat the referendum.

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    p>There were so many conspicuous errors in the way the Middleboro/Mashpee/BIA filing was handled, an argument can be made for the lack of serious intent here as well. Did they just get involved to eliminate competition?

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    p>We can expect much the same “food fight” if Beacon Hill makes the same mistake of opening the flood gates.

  2. This struck me as truly weird.

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    p>

    Late Friday the state House voted by a veto-proof 61 to 9 on a bill to increase the required number of [greyhound] racing days from 125 to 200 a year. That’s the opposite direction from where BLB and Mr. Carcieri wanted things to go; part of the bankruptcy deal hinges on BLB’s ability to eliminate the racetrack.

    The measure heads to the Senate this week.

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    p>Huh?  The House passed a measure requiring the track to race on more days than it says it can afford — because it loses money on racing?  Remember — it’s the track itself that wants to end dog racing: Twin River “wanted legislative permission to end greyhound racing, which the company says loses $10.5 million annually.”

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    p>Apparently, this is the explanation:

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    p>

    “We commend our lawmakers for choosing to protect jobs and taxpayer revenue rather than lining the pockets of the big banks,” said Jennifer Bramley, a spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Greyhound Owners Association, which warned that ending the races would cost more than 200 jobs.

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    p>If the bill passes the House, Governor Carcieri says he will veto it, explaining:

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    Carcieri will veto the legislation when it arrives on his desk, said his spokeswoman, Amy Kempe.

    “It’s an outdated form of gambling and it’s a drain on the facility,” Kempe said.

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    p>Apparently, when it comes to greyhound racing, weird strategies are not limited to Massachusetts!

  3. I made the comment at

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    p>http://middlebororeview.blogsp…

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    p>Maybe someone should do the math. $2 Billion in revenue for 441 jobs.

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    p>If we’re now talking about less than 200 jobs when you subtract the “loss leader” of greyhound racing, is that $4 million per job?

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    p>Doesn’t this sound like the “slot parlors” that Cahill is proposing?

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    p>”Slot Parlors” don’t require “jobs” judging from what happens elsewhere.

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    p>”Slot Parlors” can’t be justified in terms of “job creation.”

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    p>They’re like those self-serve gas stations in Florida that let you insert your card, pay your money and go away.

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    p>Does anyone have any better explanation to offer?

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    p>Why don’t we just propose drive up ATM for the Bay State?

    • What does any politician know about running a casino or dogtrack? Cant wait to see how pols do running healthcare?

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      p>Also, whats the deal with the crack about self serve gas stations in Florida? I avoid any station with people operating them, you wait longer for your gas and the bill. Self service anything is better than human operated service.  

      • When it’s 10 degrees out with a 30 MPH wind, I don’t mind waiting a bit longer for the bill.

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        p>That’s the main reason why I think full service is still relatively prevalent in Northern states.

      • That’s silly.  Just off the top of my head: a good cashier at the supermarket can check you out much faster than you check yourself out using the self-serve lane.  They are much better at getting the scanner to read the bar code; they have memorized a lot of the codes for produce, whereas you have to look them up; etc.

        • Examples of self service being better vs human:

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          p>1. Airline ticket booking – euff said
          2. Dry cleaners: My company has a drop off bag where I talk with no one and just drop it in a window – no checking the garments, getting a receipt, quick and easy – saves me about 5 minutes a week
          3. Airline Kiosks for tickets: Walk up put in credit card get ticket – no mind numbing wait lines shlepping bags thru some zig zag line
          4. ATM: walk up and get money – no line , no id check, no signing – oh, almost forgot i dont even get out of my car

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          p>And yes i can scan as fast as any check out person and guess what, i dont need to wait for some idiot to write a check for 5$ worth of diapers in front of me, again, if you like wasting your time, please use the humans, i am too busy for that non sense

          • that you’re pointing out that self service is better than poor human service.

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            p>On this I agree.  I suspect that you’d agree than poor self service is worse than good human service.  Orbitz braking your browser, a dry cleaning machine providing you the wrong receipt, or an ATM machine which shorted you $20 are all worse than instant, friendly service with a smile.

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            p>P.S. I guarantee you that I could check you out at Home Depot faster and more accurately than you could check yourself out.  I used to be the front end supervisor at a Home Depot, and it turns out there are quite a few tricks to the trade that good (certainly not all!) cashiers use.

        • I can sail through the self-serve at Price-Chopper because I’m familiar with the checkout.  At any other store, it’s a fumble because it’s initially unfamiliar.  Full-service Gas is just an annoying ripoff, again because it’s become so familiar, it’s easy to use.  And cheaper.

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          p>And that’s the bottom line. Presumably, because there are fewer check out clerks, assuming a competitive market place (i.e. Lowes versus Home Depot), self check out saves money, and is by (my) definition, better.

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          p>p.s. this self-service thread, is all a tangent, no?

      • If casino gambling, slot machines, slot parlors, “racinos,” continue to be used as “job creators,” or job protectors as in the dog tracks, it’s an inappropriate analogy.

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        p>The RI bankruptcy judge will eventually agree to rid Rhode Island of the dogs, expand the hours to 24/7, lower the state’s percentage. The investors will get what they want because they always do. Rhode Island is no different from any other state that has gone this route. The casino investors dictate the terms.

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        p>Maybe self-serve gas stations are a poor analogy, but you don’t need a lot of employees to run a slot parlor. That’s what the tracks are going to be — the dogs will be gone, the horses are just about finished. Not enough attendance to make them financially feasible. Racing is no longer viable.

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        p>Indiana added slots to bail out race tracks. Kentucky, home of horse racing just refused to do so. Look around at other states.

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        p>If you accept Senator Pacheco’s push to save the dog tracks for $225 MILLION less EACH Track than Indiana got, you haven’t done your homework.  

  4. Is there really any doubt at this point for any odds-maker:

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    p>1: Governor, for Class III gambling.
    2: Both leaders, House and Senate, all in.
    3: Town of Palmer, generally in with some marginally organized opposition, but really just a coffee-clatch from nearby towns.
    4: Mohigan Sun moving full speed.
    5: State treasury, broke and looking for some easy (i.e. non-tax) cash.

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    p>7:2 odds for a casino in 2010.  Who’s in?

    • A casino legally allowed?  A casino being built?  A casino open for business?

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      p>Also, Jan 1 or Dec 31 2010?

  5. A number of us have lived under the cloud of INEVITABILITY for 2 years and listened to Scotty Fearsome proclaimed that it was fruitless to resist – It was coming!

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    p>It is no different from the Palmer Store Front, intended as a PR move to create the feeling of “It’s INEVITABLE.”

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    p>Well, not only is it not INEVITABLE, it also makes no sense.

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    p>A few of us, when threatened with a casino locally, unknown to each other at the time, began to do our own research, ask question, examine the facts, consider the impacts, and determine for ourselves that, quite frankly, casinos suck!

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    p>Casinos suck the businesses and the vitality out of a community. They absorb the disposable income, recreate a community the way no one imagines.

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    p>Just as Lincoln, RI is complaining about Twin River.

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    p>The pot of gold that’s promised evaporates!

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    p>It evaporates quickly when you figure in the REAL costs — those silly things like Regulatory, Investigative, Enforcement and Prosecution costs. Local impacts for surrounding communities like new schools, ELL teachers, infrastructure upgrades, law enforcement costs, gambling addiction costs and much else.

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    p>As time permits, those who attended Senator Spilka’s Casino Love Fest will surely blog about the content and address the cost issues.

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    p>http://middlebororeview.blogsp…

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    p>This is not about JOB CREATION, as even Senator Spilka acknowledged.

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    p>Casinos and expanded gambling will NOT solve our revenue problems. They haven’t for a single state that has expanded gambling.

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    p>Professor Goodwin addressed the economic impacts of casinos. Allow me to share some interesting statistics and comments he presented (and hopefully done accurately) —

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    p>No states study their addiction statistics and maintain benchmarks.

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    p>When Iowa began their expanded gambling, the state had 1.7% problem gamblers.

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    p>3 1/2 years later, the state had 5.4% problem gamblers.

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    p>And now???

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    p>Some studies indicate that 75% of people NEVER gamble.
    When you remove that percentage from the equation, you achieve a staggering percentage with serious problems.

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    p>In Louisiana, with slot machines in every doorway, they have a 7% rate of addiction.

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    p>There are those who argue that ‘it’s entertainment, just like a Red Sox game,’ but as Professor Goodwin pointed out, not many go to a Red Sox game and come home and commit suicide.

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    p>It is estimated the each “problem gambler” costs the criminal justice system $40,000.

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    p>If you examine states that have expanded gambling, you find that states have gone from being regulators to being PROMOTERS of gambling.

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    p>The largest amounts ever spent on lobbying efforts have been spent by the gambling industry.

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    p>Professor Goodwin commented that less than 1% of the population is addicted to cocaine and look at what we spend. Gambling addiction will create a far greater impact and greater numbers.

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    p>The number of gambling addicts within a 50 mile radius of a casino skyrockets

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    p>INEVITABLE?

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    p>Not when you consider the costs.

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    p>Why would we welcome an industry that forces taxpayers to subsidize its existence?

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    p>——————————————————————————–

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