According to official record, Middleborough is going to get a casino. On Saturday, voters said that they want the casino offered by the Mashpee Wampanoags. Here's what the town will get in exchange for the casino: "At least $11 million a year plus $250 million for road, sewer and other infrastructure improvements."

But, although they approved the casino from the Wampanoags, they voted down bringing casino gambling into town. The "yes" vote was binding. The "no" vote wasn't. So, what does that mean? They want the money, but they don't want the casino? Was the heat fogging some voter's brains, and they raised their hands at the wrong time?

Sabutai at Blue Mass Group interprets the schizophrenic vote with a headline: "Casinos? No. This casino? Yes." Then, Sabutai describes the chaos at the voting scene, which was helped along by a moderator who rudely said, "I don't want to be here all day!"

Dan Kennedy points to the town leaders as aiding the confusion of the day and behaving like a bunch of heat-addled boneheads:

As for people leaving [because of the oppressive heat and humidity], well, town officials all but told people to leave by staging a disgraceful signing ceremony with the Wampanoags as soon as the agreement was approved, but before the casino itself was put to a vote. That action in itself ought to be the subject of a legal challenge on the grounds that it was a ruse aimed at making people think the meeting was over.

Whether you're for the casino or not, something went wrong with the democratic process on Saturday.

As a side note, Kennedy and Universal Hub point out that the paper edition of the Globe left out the important part in which the town voted against casino gambling in general. Oops.

The Gambler DVD cover from Amazon.