They are coming here. That is the problem.
"State to study impact of new casinos" by Mark Arsenault, Globe Staff November 29, 2014
Massachusetts will not get its first slot machines until the summer, but the state is already becoming a laboratory for gambling research, which may someday help answer some of the longstanding public policy questions about the casino industry.
Yaaaaay!
The state gambling commission has sponsored two scientific studies that will test how new casinos affect the level of problem gambling in the population, and whether new casinos lead to broader societal woes, such as increases in crime, more domestic violence, and lower home values.
We need studies for that? Something that has been and is evident already?
What makes the studies special is that they are beginning before casinos open in Massachusetts. The studies will measure the prevalence of problem gambling now, so researchers will have a baseline against which to compare the levels of problem gambling later.
The chairman of the gambling commission says it's all good, so who can argue?
************
The initial phases of the two studies will cost more than $4 million, which comes from taxes and fees on the casino industry, according to the gambling commission. The studies are being conducted by University of Massachusetts-Amherst researchers, led by principal investigator Rachel Volberg, who has studied problem gambling for about 30 years, according to UMass.
The first research project, known as the Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts study, has been underway since 2013. The plan calls for massive surveys of thousands of Massachusetts residents.
“We are doing this very large survey before any casinos become operational and then waiting,” Volberg said. “We will go out into the field with an identical survey a year after all of the casinos have opened — which gives us a snapshot before and a snapshot after, on problem gambling prevalence and gambling participation.”
The survey will measure, among other things, public attitudes toward gambling; the gambling behaviors of Massachusetts residents, most of whom already live within a few hours of casinos in Rhode Island or Connecticut; motivations for gambling and what casino customers perceive as the recreational value of gambling; as well as the number of people who may be problem gamblers.
We were told it passed about 60-40. What more do you need to know?
Another round of the survey will be performed around 2018, depending on how quickly the state’s casinos industry gets up and running, Volberg said.
The state’s first slot machines are due to start spinning in June, at a Penn National Gaming slot parlor in Plainville, which is under construction.
I'm sure they will be up and running on time (unlike some other things).
In about three years, MGM is expected to open an $800 million casino and entertainment complex in downtown Springfield, and Wynn Resorts is due to open a $1.6 billion casino hotel on the Mystic River waterfront in Everett.
The gambling commission is soliciting bids for the final resort casino license it controls, for Southeastern Massachusetts. Separately, the Mashpee Wampanoag are trying to overcome legal hurdles in pursuit of a tribal casino in the southeast.
As part of the study, researchers are also gathering community statistics, covering areas such as employment and business payrolls, household income, sales taxes, lottery sales, tourism visits, and many other categories, to track any measurable changes over time after casinos open.
The second research project, known as the Massachusetts Gambling Impact Cohort study, will follow about 2,600 individual people for the next five years — or longer — as the casino industry moves into Massachusetts and matures, to see what happens to the individuals over time.
“It’s truly remarkable that we’re going to be able to start this study in advance of any of the casinos being operational,” Volberg said. “That’s something that hasn’t been done before.” The cohort study “focuses on getting a better understanding about how problem gambling starts, develops, and resolves over time. To do that you really need to follow individuals, rather than taking a population snapshot.”
Speaking of money addicts:
State Getting Cut of Your Casino Pot
They also give themselves pay raises while midyear budget cuts are imposed during an alleged economic recovery.
And now they are going to study the problem as it relates to casinos! What good government!
In addition to legalizing Las Vegas-style casino gambling, the 2011 state casino law requires the gambling commission to study the effects of casinos in Massachusetts.
The commission anticipates that the results of the studies will help the panel design policies to combat problem gambling.
As they eagerly await the tax loot generated by such activity, yup!
--more--"
Think of it this way: they are not only casinos, they are a whole lot more.
"Foxwoods, biggest US casino, cuts back on gambling" by Michael Melia, Associated Press November 25, 2014
HARTFORD — Foxwoods, the largest casino resort in North America, is reducing its number of slot machines and table games to free up space for nightclubs and other new attractions as it adapts to fierce competition.
It’s a transition that the new chief executive, Felix Rappaport, said probably should have started years earlier but was perhaps held up by emotional attachments. It reflects a decline in the number of people gambling at the cavernous Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Once the middle class was destroyed it had no more money for frivolous things like these richer playgrounds.
**********
Foxwoods enjoyed a monopoly on casino-style gambling in the region for years after it opened in 1992. It had 6,300 slot machines and 380 table games before the Great Recession brought a decline in gambling revenue that has yet to be reversed.
Not very good odds, huh?
Related: Connecticut Casinos Kill
Let's hope such a thing doesn't happen in your town.
The resort is positioning itself to endure competition that’s expected to intensify in coming years with as many as three casinos in Massachusetts. Foxwoods and its local rival, Mohegan Sun, are already losing revenue to casinos in the New York City area and to Rhode Island’s Twin Rivers Casino, which recently added table games.
At Mohegan Sun, the Tribal Gaming Authority’s chief executive, Mitchell Etess, said last week that its gaming floor has shrunk, but he does not anticipate more big cuts.
***********
Rappaport was named chief executive last week by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. He joined Foxwoods in February and was part of a management team focused on expanding the resort experience, including with new nightclubs, restaurants, and an outlet mall expected to open in the spring.
Yeah, that will really help the $pillover to the local economy.
He worked previously as president of the casinos Excalibur, New York-New York, and Luxor in Las Vegas, where he saw each property have a ‘‘golden era’’ and then have to adapt — and sometimes contract — as changes came to the marketplace.
Rappaport said Foxwoods is evolving in the same way, adding attractions with the goal of stirring excitement and keeping visitors on the property for longer periods of time.
At least Massachusetts will study the problem.
‘‘The industry in general has become less gaming-centric,’’ he said. ‘‘I think in Foxwoods’ case we have exactly the same opportunities.’’
If they are becoming less gaming-centric, then.... local business suffers, doesn't it?
--more--"
Going to have to study that next.
Also see: Digging Up Casinos Again
You would have to start here and keep working your way back.
NEXT DAY UPDATE: Casino foes look to rechannel their voices
