After the Middleborough Mess that just served to show how divided this state is over casinos, Governor Deval Patrick has decided to make a move. He's declaring himself pro-casino and presented plans to build three casinos in Massachusetts.
The three casinos will be placed to distribute the resulting wealth - if it arrives - throughout the state. Those who want to open a casino will have to bid for possession of the three licenses. That could make the efforts of the Wampanoags to get a casino in Middleborough pointless if they don't win a bid. But the residents of Middleborough who don't want the casino shouldn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet. The Wampanoags can use federal channels to open a gambling joint.
Just because Patrick is pro-casino and has a plan doesn't mean it's going to happen. The proposal also has to go through the legislature first. The Herald quoted Daniel Bosley, the co-chair of the Legistature's economic committee, as saying, "If you look at the cost-benefit analysis, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. The revenues aren’t real.”
It won't be long before casino dreamers are shining up and trying to land one of these coveted licenses. And politicians will have dollar signs dancing in their heads. The state desperately needs money for its infrastructure. The manholes are flying off, the bridges are old, the steam pipes are bursting, and the Big Dig - well, don't get us started with that.
The main issue is not whether or not casinos will exist but, if they exist, who is going to regulate them. Will the cities and towns who need the money they will supposedly bring ever get that money? Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and other contractors got fat and happy from the Big Dig while Massachusetts residents were left with the dregs. If Patrick wants casinos, he'd better have a plan to make sure that all that casino money goes to the right place.
Image of a roulette wheel from Toni Lozano on Wikimedia Commons.
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