State lawmakers in Massachusetts are losing the battle against introducing casino gambling onto the island. Tim Madden, a Nantucket state representative, was the only one out of 32 legislators who went against the casino gaming bill. In the previous week the bill had had a good reception and been approved by a large margin.
If the legislation goes ahead, it will pave the way for three resort casino and these will built in different areas of the state. One of them is planned to be a single slot parlor and another a tribal casino based in Southeastern Massachusetts which will be owned by Mashpee Wampanoag.
State financial losses
Many critics are against the casinos because they believe gambling can bring with it a number of dangerous social problems and add no value to a community. But, this is not Madden’s biggest concern. He believes that allowing this form of legislation will not be beneficial to the district because money might be diverted for tourism and various other projects away from the region. The region in question is made up of Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and certain areas of Falmouth.
“My concern is the infrastructure dollars; what you spend on roads and maintenance gets diverted to make these resorts,” Madden said. “And tourism dollars would be getting devoted to promote casinos.”
He went on to explain that there might be financial losses as opposed to gains within the region. “I don’t see jobs being created in the district and we may lose people here on the island who may follow those jobs,” he said. “All I hope is that it provides the jobs and the income that it is purported to do. It’s not the path I wanted to go down, but I don’t begrudge it.”
House approval
In a roll call which took place last Wednesday, the legislation was approved by the House 132-32. The bill will now go to the state Senate where also it is expected to be approved. Once this has happened, it will be sent over to Governor Deval Patrick.
Bad for the community
State Senator Dan Wolf, who was also in discussions with Madden, explained that he saw the vote against the legislation as “non-negotiable.” He takes a clear stance against the state lawmakers even thinking about the legalization of casino resort within the commonwealth.
“You’re looking at two of the strongest anti-casino legislators on Beacon Hill,” Wolf commented on Madden and himself.
Wolf’s impression of gambling is that it does not bring any good into a community. “There’re so many things, like the social problems, the economic benefits it promises and doesn’t deliver, it’s wrong on so many levels,” he explained. “It’s an insult to the people of Massachusetts that your elected representatives are even talking about this.”