…and by meter running, he means that with the law in place to allow three casinos and a single slots parlor in MA, the public wants action — revenue, short and long-term jobs, and other proof that large-scale commercial gambling (euphemistically gaming) beyond the lottery is the right thing to do.
Treasurer and Receiver General Steve Grossman joined Left Ahead today for an abbreviated (20-minute) show focused precisely on the what-now factor. Click the player below to hear what he says about:
- Selection of the five commissioners to set up and oversee the works
- What we expect to gain from the operations
- How fast we ramp up
- What his concerns are about the commissioner he picks, the two others he co-chooses, and the whole process
Even though he’s the commonwealth’s pivotal money man and financial policy visionary, Grossman is quick to point out that he’s largely a spectator once the commission’s in place and the sites are awarded. He guides at this stage and then has to be hands off. Ideally, he’ll be figuratively counting money from the operational proceeds.
It was just he and I today on this short show. I was plain about my trepidation.
Grossman inspires the obvious observation that he was an Eagle Scout and like most of them largely remains the honest and stalwart fellow. In that vein, he stressed how demanding he will be in his choice of commissioner. The Governor has already chosen the chair, the Attorney General gets a pick, and the three of them agree among themselves on the other two to make five. The process at least on paper/online looks like the qualifications in the description and application will avoid conflicts of interest, guarantee objectivity as much as humanly possible, and bring the proper mix of relevant knowledge and skills. Check the commonwealth site here for the specs and application.
I was also very concerned about the vague and seemingly naive objectives in the law itself. Scroll to lines 138 through 149 for key goals. Pretty much, the lawmakers and governor want new jobs as well as protection and expansion of local business and tourism.
These generalizations are a far cry from what is in the literature about successful implementations of gambling facilities. Most of those are overseas and typically took years of planning and bids that required the investing company to spend tens of millions meeting the governments specifications in elaborate proposals. The clearest case I heard was from casinos expert Prof. William Eadington at a recent Rappaport forum.
While Grossman did not promise that level of smart planning, he did agree with the concepts. Listen in as he describes that meter running. He figures we have one chance to do this right. He wants the commonwealth, in the form of him, the AG, Governor and commission, to apply principles like those he used in his successful business. He does not want anyone rushing and expects high quality instead of speed of implementation.
Likewise, he spoke of trying to capture the revenue that goes to out-of-state casinos and would not promise an effort to attract out-of-state and out-of-U.S. tourists. However, he likes the ideas behind the successful implementations in foreign casinos. Those typically built such attractive tourist resorts that they are true destinations, ones where the wealthy happily bring their families for a week or more, shopping, dining,clubbing, sightseeing, and sure, gambling too. He said that is possible here as well.
He promised updates as the process continues. We intend to take him up on that.
about the Governor, Treasurer, AG, Senate President and Speaker’s (we’ll visit pathetic bumbling Bobby getting burned by crafty Bobby in another post) belief that they, in their infinite and elite wisdom, vision and business prowess can invite the predatory casino gambling industry into the Commonwealth and control it. Massachusetts politicians are better and brighter than everyone else in history. Those boyos in the Democrat establishment have the magic to simultaneously beat the clock and, YES, choose the Top Gun of Gaming Commission Commissioners who will bring those revenues in to the smarmy Treasurer’s office – (along with the parallel ABCC Happy Hour campaign contributions plying the door open for what favors from the Treasurer? More regulation? Good government jobs?) tout suite! Lol!
While Grossman has been regurgitating his own lies, Crosby was making statements on WRKO radio to the effect that if the developers don’t come up with a rose they ain’t gonna get any juice.