Capuano: Supports. Large social costs must be figured into financial equation"adults should be able to do pretty much what they want if they are not hurting others," including gambling at casinos.
Capuano also acknowledged that casinos won't be a cure-all for the state's fiscal woes, and that any expansion of gambling inevitably comes with a downside.
"There will be some large social costs, and that has to be figured into the financial equation or the state will end up with a net loss," Capuano said in a statement.
Coakley: Does not oppose. Cautions for caution. Coakley said she doesn't oppose casinos but believes the state should approach expanded gambling with caution.
Lawmakers should study other states that already have casinos -- such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Nevada -- to try to avoid pitfalls like increased crime, gambling addiction and identity theft, she said.
Massachusetts should adopt new regulations before signing any deals and put in place auditing mechanisms to oversee casinos' financial records, she said. She has filed legislation aimed at aiding investigations into money laundering, enterprise crime and wire interception.
(Ed note:An enterprising person might want to take a look at Martha's legislation to see the authorities granted to the state to "aid" investigations, and measures to decrease crime, remediate gambling addiction, and protect against identity theft. Who has a link?)
Khazei: Opposed, social costs too great "It will fundamentally and irrevocably change our state."
Khazei argues that the social cost of increased gambling outweighs any increase in revenues. He says the state should instead focus on bolstering jobs in sectors such as biotechnology, health care, clean energy and small businesses.
Pagliuca: Conditional support, hard to resist, must be part of bigger business proposition Pagliuca sounded a more skeptical note, saying he would support casinos only if they were part of larger developments that included restaurants, entertainment venues and hotels.
Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics, said the lure of jobs would be hard to resist, given the state's rising unemployment.
"I have trepidation about casino gambling because of the issues of crime and blight and gambling addiction," he said, adding that he could support a plan if it minimizes those drawbacks and "is proven that it will add significant jobs to the state."
Public: 56% Yea*, 34% Ney, 9% undecided Public opinion appears to support casinos.
A telephone survey of 522 adults found that 56 percent support allowing the state to license casinos, 34 percent are opposed and nine percent are undecided or declined to answer.
The poll of Massachusetts residents was conducted Oct. 18-22 by the Western New England College Polling Institute and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
(* "Yea" but not in my back yard.)
Public: in my back yard? 67% Ney, 12% Yea, 11% undecided
...an overwhelming majority say they don't want a casino as their neighbor.
Western New England College News: Massachusetts Residents Split on Casino Gambling
While Massachusetts residents are divided about whether to allow casino gambling in the state, an overwhelming majority say they don't want a casino as their neighbor. When asked "Are you in favor of a casino in your town?", 57 percent responded they were strongly opposed. Ten percent were somewhat opposed, 11 percent neutral, 12 percent somewhat in favor, and ten percent strongly in favor. Opposition softened somewhat when people were asked "Are you in favor of a casino in your county?", with 38 percent strongly opposed, 11 percent somewhat opposed, 15 percent neutral, 21 percent somewhat in favor, and 16 percent strongly in favor. (More about the poll results here.) |
