"Hopes fade for casino measure; Votes lacking to resume session" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | August 27, 2010
Despite repeated prodding by Governor Deval Patrick, legislative leaders say they are increasingly unlikely to return to session, a stance that would spell the end of casino gambling legislation this year.
“Right now, we’re sitting here in August; I’d say it’s very, very doubtful,’’ House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said yesterday. “But things are fluid here. You know that.’’
*****
The comments from legislative leaders dim the already slim chances that the Legislature, which does not meet in formal session again until January, would reconvene and revive the contentious gambling bill....
Yaaaaaaaaaay!!
Related: Against All Odds: Highs, Lows, and Lies
Oh.
Are we just BEING DECEIVED AGAIN by the Boston Globe?
The collapse of the bill sparked the closing last week of Wonderland Park, the former greyhound racing facility in Revere, which laid off 85 employees, saying it could not operate without a license to run slot machines. Raynham Park in Taunton, which had also hoped to run as a slot parlor, laid off 300 workers in January, after a voter-approved ban on dog racing went into effect....
I smell an agenda being pushed, don't you?
Yeah, it's all the voter's fault.
Of course, all the tracks are MONEY-LOSERS, but hey, who cares here in AmeriKa?
"Facing tough times at the track; With casinos in limbo, Suffolk Downs is latest to consider cuts" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff | August 11, 2010
Owners of Suffolk Downs said they are considering laying off employees and reducing purses for race winners now that the track cannot count on casino gambling to rescue its money-losing operations.
Do YOU INVEST in a SURE LOSER, America?
Despite efforts to revitalize racing at Suffolk, the East Boston track has lost nearly $35 million during the last three years, according to financial reports filed with the state. Still, its owners have continued to pump money into the facility, hoping for approval of gambling legislation that would allow them to open a $600 million casino complex.
Couldn't that money have been better used somewhere else?
Now, with prospects for that legislation remote, a Suffolk executive said the track must find ways cut costs at the 1,000-employee operation.
For four months, anyway.
Believe me, I have lived here long enough and that thing is already written and waiting.
Related: The Perils of One-Party Politics: Massachusetts' Democracy
See who wrote it?
In addition to running Suffolk Downs at a loss, the owners have been funding neighboring Wonderland Park dog track and paying for an option to redevelop that property....
The failure of the Legislature and Governor Deval Patrick to agree on a final gambling bill has already claimed jobs at other tracks. Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville, which conducts harness racing, laid off 160 workers last week, while the owners of Raynham Park dog track halted plans to rehire 400 workers. Raynham has been simulcasting races since January, when a voter-approved ban on live dog racing took effect.
Gambling opponents said the tracks’ announcements of layoffs are intended to pressure state leaders into reaching a compromise to expand gambling.
Yeah, I THOUGHT SO!!
Yeah, it is ALWAYS IMAGE and AGENDA-PUSHING DECEPTIONS here in Amerika!!
Yup, EVERYTHING -- and I do mean, EVERYTHING -- is STAGED for SOME AGENDA-PUSHING REASON and their is ALWAYS an ULTERIOR MOTIVE!!
But the opponents said saving jobs, while important for the workers, does not erase the negative impact of casino-style gambling.
“It’s a regressive tax on people and families who can least afford it,’’ said Kris Mineau, the president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. “Expanding gambling under any circumstances is not benefiting the families of the Commonwealth.’’
That is NOT what the PRO-GAMBLING GLOBE told us:
Boston Globe Says Everyone is a Winner at Casinos
Can you tell ho much contempt I hold for that PoS paper, readers?
The layoffs, especially at Suffolk Downs, would be a blow to House Speaker Robert DeLeo, the Winthrop Democrat who spent significant political capital during his first year as speaker pushing for expanded gambling at Suffolk and Wonderland, both of which are in his district.
Well, TOO BAD!!
Who cares about that SELF-SERVING S*** BAG?
DeLeo yesterday said any blame for job losses lies with Patrick....
Yeah, POINTING FINGERS and playing the BLAME GAME over something WE DO NOT WANT really enamors me to the cause!
The ongoing war of words makes a compromise seem unlikely in the near term, meaning the tracks would have no hope of gambling until at least next January, when the Legislature resumes formal sessions.
Honestly, I am sick of the Boston Globe bulls***.
I'm TIRED of the DECEPTIVE WORD GAMES and OUTRIGHT LIES!
I'm SICK of the ONE-SIDED, AGENDA-PUSHING S*** they troll out day-after-day.
And if THEY ARE LOSING ME, well.... IT'S OVER, Globe!
Suffolk’s executives said they cannot wait that long without making cuts, especially with no guarantee that legislation will ultimately pass. The need for cost reductions represents a sharp reversal from the optimism of 2007, when casino developer Richard Fields bought a majority ownership of the track and promised to revive public interest in thoroughbred racing, whether Suffolk got approval for expanded gambling or not.
“I only do projects where people say it can’t be done,’’ Fields told the Globe in a June 2007 interview. “This is a big one, baby. . . . I’ve made a big bet here.’’
And YOU LOST!
Fields and the track’s other owners — local businessman Joe O’Donnell and the New York investment firm Vornado Realty Trust — spent millions to rebuild barns and other facilities at the track. The owners more than doubled the advertising budget, spending $1.6 million on marketing in 2008. And they also increased the size of purses, paying $2.2 million more to winning horsemen between 2007 and 2009 than is required under state law.
Are there not BETTER THINGS to do with that money?
And honestly, I am not seeing a whole lot of jobs there!
Increasing purses, which are paid out of total wagering, helps support local horsemen and improves the caliber of competition at the track, which hosts races 101 days of the year between May and November.
I'll stay with my hand, Globe.
I'm not buying any more cards from you.
But horse racing remains thinly popular — Suffolk Downs draws 10,000 people on a good day — compared to 66,000 or more after it opened in 1935.
Translation: It is a DYING INDUSTRY!
Will someone please put it OUT of its MISERY?
Without crowds, the increased spending left the track with an $18 million loss in 2007 and a $13.8 million loss in 2008, according to reports filed with the Massachusetts Racing Commission. Plainridge and Raynham Park also absorbed losses for those years, though not nearly as large: Plainridge reported $5.9 million in losses, while Raynham said it lost more than $1 million....
Sorry, I have no sympathy left over for the scum of the industry.
Not when we are murdering Muslim all over the world.
You know, MAYBE you could BUILD some FACTORIES that actually MAKE PRODUCTS on the site instead, huh?
Ah, yes, the WONDER of it ALL!
"Wonderland Park shuts down, rekindling debate over slots; Decision ends 75 years of operation; 85 laid off" by Casey Ross and Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff | August 20, 2010
That is EXACTLY for what it was MEANT!
Wonderland Park, the former greyhound racing facility in Revere, abruptly closed yesterday and laid off 85 employees, ending 75 years of operations and triggering a new round of recriminations over the failure of expanded gambling legislation on Beacon Hill....
Now PASS IT, will you!?
The loud political reaction to Wonderland’s closing seemed out of proportion to its recent presence on the state’s economic landscape. The track had been struggling financially for years, troubles that accelerated after Massachusetts residents voted to ban live dog racing in 2008.
Yeah, it was OUR FAULT because we CARED about a LIVING CREATURE and its MISTREATMENT!
Wonderland was kept alive only by the state’s decision this year to renew simulcasting rights through next July, allowing it to broadcast races from other tracks. But once the gambling legislation died, the track’s owners decided that the trickle of daily traffic from simulcasting was not enough to continue operations.
Sorry, but TIME to SHUT THEM DOWN!
Maybe you can get a career makeover from the Boston Globe like the rest of us!!
By the time of its closing, only about 20 of the track’s 85 employees were full-time workers, according to state officials. It generated just $90,000 last year in gaming taxes, down from about $600,000 in the late 1970s, according to George Anzuoni, Revere treasurer.
Wonderland owes Revere $429,000 in back property taxes, Anzuoni added.
Un-flipping-effin'-real!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, YOU WILL BENEFIT if the CASINOS COME HERE, taxpayers!
Still,
Words like that tell you BULLSHIT is about to be thrown!
lawmakers said, the impact is severe for Wonderland’s remaining workers, many of whom collected their last paychecks yesterday.
Let us DO THAT to some REPRESENTATIVES and SENATORS this year, Massachusetts!!
Their reactions edged quickly from sadness to anger....
Well, NO ONE UP THERE seems to CARE about MINE, so F*** 'EM!!!!
But the activists behind the 2008 dog-racing ban made no apologies for Wonderland’s closing.
Damn right! I never got one!!
“A generation from now, people are going to look back with dismay that greyhound racing ever existed in our state,’’ said Carey Theil, executive director and spokesman for Grey2K USA, the group that promoted the ban. “For generations, dogs suffered and died at this facility.’’
We DON'T NEED a GENERATION to KNOW THAT!
That is why we VOTED to END IT!
Since the fall of 2008, Wonderland has been funded by the owners of Suffolk Downs race track, who are paying for a $10 million mortgage and an option to redevelop the track. A Suffolk Downs executive said the company is still assessing its options for building on the 35-acre Wonderland site, which is adjacent to Revere Beach.
How about BUILDING a FACTORY?
“We have an agreement to purchase the property, and we’re looking at how we move forward,’’ said Chip Tuttle, Suffolk’s chief operating officer.
But Suffolk is facing financial troubles of its own. Its owners have lost more than $35 million on operations of the track during the last three years and have also cut back, reducing purse sizes this week and hinting at layoffs....
So you BETTER PASS that CASINO BILL!!
Yesterday’s shutdown was jarring nonetheless. Many workers remembered the track as a vibrant recreational facility that once attracted so many patrons that cars would double park in the nearby lot.
Ever notice that NOSTALGIA is FINE when it SUPPORTS the AGENDA?
Otherwise you are STANDING in the WAY of PROGRESS and being an OBSTRUCTIONIST!
Today, the lot provides parking for rental car agencies.
Well, that is BETTER than a CASINO!
Longtime patron Joe Gallella drove in from Wakefield yesterday, not knowing the track had closed.
“I come here every day, put my numbers in,’’ said Gallella. “I’m going to miss this place. My wife will be happy, though.’’
Oh, NO ONE TOLD YOU GAMBLING BUSTS up FAMILIES?!!
Not in this agenda-pushing piece of slop!
East Boston resident Bob Marano said he has been placing bets at Wonderland for at least half a century, just like his father did before him.
Yeah, bring 'em back, boo-hoo-hoo!!!
“He was a barber. As soon as he closed his shop [each day], he came down here,’’ Marano said yesterday, standing outside the track, where he stopped to pay his respects while out on a grocery run.
It is called ADDICTION!
And they are treating it like a DEAD PERSON?
I think I am going to be SICK!
“Last visit, I came down, but most of my friends were gone. . . . I don’t know how they survived. There’d only be like 25 people in the whole place.’’
Umm, they HAVEN'T! That's the WHOLE POINT!
Boy, that SURE WAS a BALANCED SET of ARTICLES, huh?
Also see: Boston Globe Poker Face
I will FOLD -- and KEEP MY MONEY, Globe!
