June 21, 2012
CONTACT:
Celeste Myers
celeste.myers@gmail.com
EAST BOSTON, MASS.— In living rooms and parks, community
centers and church basements -- all across East Boston -- groups of
neighbors are coming together around a single unifying idea: a
casino at Suffolk Downs will permanently and negatively alter a
community that has often been at the losing end of new developments
and legislation – yet a community that over the last 20 years has
been moving steadily toward “something better.” They have seen the
$1 billion casino proposal Suffolk Downs and Caesars Entertainment
have put forth and see right through the big promises and the fancy
artist's renderings.
Two events in the next few days will feature the collective voice of
neighbors who believe we can do better than a casino at Suffolk
Downs. On Saturday at 10 a.m, casino opponents will participate in
their third East Boston stand-out/visibility, this time in
Orient Heights -- "ground zero" for the effects of a casino. And
a Community Casino Meeting on Monday, June 25, will be the
broadest assembly of Boston casino opponents yet. Residents from any
and all impacted areas will gather in solidarity against this Trojan
horse in our community, eager to counter the multi-million dollar PR
campaign Caesars and Suffolk Downs have begun to mislead those who
will be most affected by a casino. The meeting, sponsored by No
Eastie Casino, will feature brief presentations about the process
and casino proposal and enlist neighbors as volunteer foot soldiers
in the fight. It will take place at the East Boston Social Centers,
68 Central Square, in East Boston, from 6-8 p.m.
Though it is being presented as a help to our neighborhood, a
casino will be a Trojan horse, profiting mainly the wealthy
corporate executives and leaving the city and our neighbors with all
the problems:
Fewer Jobs — Every new slot machine kills 1-2
jobs per year because each machine removes more than $100,000
annually from the consumer economy. The East Boston casino proposal
calls for 4,000-5,000 slot machines. [1]
Local Businesses Suffer — 66 percent of
independent restaurants closed in Atlantic City after the casinos
opened there [2], and a third of the city's retail businesses have
since closed [3]. Casino owner Donald Trump famously said: "People
will spend a tremendous amount of money in casinos, money that they
would normally spend on buying a refrigerator or a new car. Local
businesses will suffer because they lose customer dollars to the
casinos."[4]
Crime Increases: After a 5-7-year honeymoon
period in which crime stays the same or decreases slightly, rates of
assaults, larcenies, burglaries, robberies, murders, and auto theft
increase go up from 22-114 percent. [5]
Addiction and Bankruptcies Increase: Gambling
addiction rates double in communities surrounding casinos,
increasing from around 1-2 percent to 3-5 percent. [6] If the
populations of Boston, Revere, Chelsea, and Winthrop see just a
1percent increase in gambling addiction, the casino would create
7,200 new problem gamblers – double the number of jobs the complex
promises to create. Personal bankruptcies increase by more than 18
percent in surrounding communities. [7]
Traffic Increases: 10,000-15,000 new vehicles
will be on our roads every day, further congesting an already
unequipped Route 1A. The $40 million in "improvements" do not come
close to meeting the infrastructure improvements needed to support a
casino -- which would cost around $500 million, according to a study
conducted by Seagull Consulting, for Sen. Anthony Petruccelli. [8]
Other Effects: Home values decrease, car
insurance rates increase, real estate taxes decrease, predatory
lending increases, and air pollution is worsened.
Why would we willingly invite this unknown entity, this
Trojan horse, into our community -- one which has seen unprecedented
positive growth over the last 20 years?
It's time for the people to hear and share the truth Suffolk Downs
and Caesars want to remain hidden. It's time for the concerns of
residents of Boston and beyond to be heard and validated. This
casino is not inevitable. The people have a say, and the people will
not be silenced. In the end, truth will prevail.
--------------------
Notes:
1. J. Kindt, Senior Ed. (Ed.). 2009. Gambling with Crime,
Destabilized Economies, and Financial Systems, 1-1,286. Buffalo,
New York: William S. Hein and Company, Inc.
2. Evelyn Nieves, “Our Towns: Taste of Hope at Restaurants
Casinos Hurt,” New York Times, March 23, 1997, section 1, p.
39.
3. Robert Goodman, The Luck Business: The Devastating
Consequences and Broken Promises of America’s Gambling Explosion
(New York: Free Press, 1995), p. 23.
4.
Interview with Donald Trump. "The Jackpot State", The Miami
Herald, March 27, 1994
5.
Grinols and Mustard download, p.14 Figure 6: Percentage
increases calculated by dividing year one figures by year seven
figures as reported by Grinols and Mustard
6. Welte, J. W., Wieczorek, W. F., Barnes, G. M., Tidwell,
M.-C. O., & Hoffman, J. H. (2004). The relationship of ecological
and geographic factors to gambling behavior and pathology.
Journal of Gambling Studies,
20, 405-423.
7. The Personal Bankruptcy Crisis, 1997: Demographics, Causes,
Implications & Solutions," SMR Research Corporation, 1997, p. 117.
8. Lynds, John.
“Petruccelli: Put casino legislation in the hands of voters.”
East Boston Times Free-Press. March 19, 2010
