The town of Revere, home to Suffolk Downs racetrack, voted overwhelmingly last week to oppose a slots parlor next to the racetrack that is on the November ballot.
The residents voted 65 to 35 percent (2,970 to 1,574) thumbs down in the non-binding vote.
After the vote Mayor Brian Arrigo commented, “Obviously tonight, the people of Revere sent a resounding message that no amount of dark money and no amount of false advertising would persuade them to be for a bad idea.” He added, “Having a coalition of state and local leaders who spoke with the same voice to say this isn’t about being pro- or anti-gaming, this is about being for good ideas and against bad ideas and this is a bad idea.”
Arrigo had urged residents to oppose what he called a “fly-by-night” proposal by a developer whose paperwork he called sloppy.
Eugene McCain, the developer who gathered the signatures to put the measure on the state ballot, and who has options to buy property next to the racetrack, told the Boston Globe, “Someone spent a very large amount of money in the last five days on a misinformation campaign.” He added, “We’re not accepting that the citizens of Revere are saying no. We still believe that the majority of registered voters in the city of Revere are in favor of it, so we will still continue to press our case here in Revere and try to overcome the misinformation that’s been dumped on the community.”
He promised to move forward with the statewide campaign.
Question 1, on the state ballot, would allow for a slots parlor within 1,500 feet of a racetrack, with 1,250 slots but no table games.
Besides winning the vote, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would have to agree to grant a gaming license.
An Omnibus Bill
Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby has for many months championed an “omnibus” bill that would address online gaming. He would like to see most forms of online gaming legalized and regulated. Such a bill would encompass all forms of online gaming that are currently known, but be flexible enough to include new technology.
At the recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2016 Crosby enunciated his three principles
• Don’t prohibit something people want to do.
• The need for flexible gaming since the industry is in constant flux.
• Adopt a clear definition of gambling
Regarding that last principle, Crosby has said repeatedly: “Let’s just call it all gambling and be done with it.” He has also said, “What difference does it make as a matter of public policy whether you gamble on the throw of dice or the throw of a darts?”
He would like to dispense with the argument of whether a game is a game of skill or not. Just so long as a wager is involved, it’s gambling, he says.
Crosby would like the regulatory model to include know your customer and geolocation checks, regulations that would segregate player funds, anti-money laundering procedures and guarantees of game integrity.
MGM Springfield
The Springfield City Council last week unanimously approved six signs to be installed on the parking garage of the MGM Springfield to toot the horn of the casino that is rising in the downtown area, as well as in venues that the casino is associated with such as MassMutual Center and CityStage.
MGM Springfield President Mike Mathis said after the vote: “We’re really excited to get unanimous approval for our sign package. It’s really an important part of the project. This really is a major architectural element.”
The signs will make a visible statement to the more than 100,000 cars that pass by every day on Interstate 91.
One of these will be a “changing image” sign that will be 25X45 feet in size.
Mathis told the city council that the $950 million casino project is still moving toward a September 2018 opening date.
