Massachusetts and Slots- Part 4
The last concern of Massachusetts regarding slot machine parlors, is the huge cost of building them. Though it sounds good to bring in money in tax-revenue dollars from gambling, the first step is to create viable contenders in the gambling market within the state. Analysts are warning that the state needs to be aware of the huge up-front cost of creating gambling centers for the public. For example, the Twin River in Rhode Island cost over $700 million to expand. Sure it brought along with it an increased number of slot machines—from 3,200 to 4,750—but the upfront cost was tremendous to the state. In the end the expansion brought the state $248 million in gambling revenue. Now gambling revenues are second only to income tax and sales tax revenues within the state. Though Twin Rivers did bring in huge money, its owners are defaulting on their loans and cannot pay their own bills to sustain operations.
Kathleen Norbut, president of United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts, a nonprofit anti-gambling cooperative, said that while casinos would produce temporary construction jobs, gambling’s long-term effects are another issue. She said, “We are going headlong into an industry that historically promotes corruption and addiction.” She cites the notable need for additional patrolling in areas with casinos, the need for greater addiction resources and more costs to the state as a whole as reasons why gambling may not be the cure-all legislators are making it out to be. She also added that creating casinos within the state of Massachusetts would “cannibalize local economies,” resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in social costs.
Norbut’s words were corroborated by a June 2009 study ordered by Connecticut’s Governor Jodi Rell. Her goal was to find out the true impact casinos have on the economy. The study showed that: “Norwich, the largest municipality in the region of Connecticut’s two casinos, has casino-related costs anywhere from $1 million to $2.5 million a year, including an increase in police overtime from $85,000 in 1991 to more than $280,000 in 2008.” In addition, the report noted that “for both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, we assume 40 percent of the jobs come from the displacement of other area businesses.”
Tags: legal, Massachusetts, slots
