Mohegan Sun promotes casino in W. Mass.

[table kicker]

how many of you people buy scratch tickets? stanley business park?

[Jim]

Parent and Educator wrote:

<quoted text>
A lot. And I don't think gambling is a good, long term way to generate revenue whether it is run by the state, the federal government, private enterprise, or whatever. It's merely a band aid solution that comes at a cost.

And what studies do you base your "thinking" on?

Gambling will always be around. Why not use it to our benefit?

[Parent and educator]

Jim wrote:

<quoted text>
And what studies do you base your "thinking" on?
Gambling will always be around. Why not use it to our benefit?

Many have studied and written on casinos, hence the ongoing controversy. Can I send you all the links right now, no. Why not start by contacting Dan Bosley's office and ask why he has been against casinos for as long as he has? Not saying he is the authority, but he does have info.

There's a part of me that agrees with you -- why not use it to our benefit? I'll take it a step further -- why not legalize and tax drugs and prostitution? These, too, have always been around and would undoubtedly provide significant tax revenue. No one has convinced me that these will provide long term solutions -- and I believe gambling and the others I mentioned come at a greater cost than benefit.

It's like smoking, a legal and to some extent state supported activity that generates significant tax revenue. If smoking were "discovered" today for the first time, there is no way it would be legal. Just because it has been around for centuries, is it OK? Same goes for alcohol. I am not advocating a ban on either, merely pointing out that just because something has been around doesn't mean it is a good thing.

[Jim]

Parent and educator wrote:

<quoted text>
Many have studied and written on casinos, hence the ongoing controversy. Can I send you all the links right now, no. Why not start by contacting Dan Bosley's office and ask why he has been against casinos for as long as he has? Not saying he is the authority, but he does have info.
There's a part of me that agrees with you -- why not use it to our benefit? I'll take it a step further -- why not legalize and tax drugs and prostitution? These, too, have always been around and would undoubtedly provide significant tax revenue. No one has convinced me that these will provide long term solutions -- and I believe gambling and the others I mentioned come at a greater cost than benefit.
It's like smoking, a legal and to some extent state supported activity that generates significant tax revenue. If smoking were "discovered" today for the first time, there is no way it would be legal. Just because it has been around for centuries, is it OK? Same goes for alcohol. I am not advocating a ban on either, merely pointing out that just because something has been around doesn't mean it is a good thing.

Have you actually been to Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods? They're not the den of thieves you have pictured in your mind.
I'm not saying that it is a good thing, I'm saying that it has been around and will continue to be for a long time and why not use it to our advantage.
You have tied these casinos together with illegal drugs and prostitution. Sorry they're not the same. Go and see for yourself.
It sounds like your point of view is born of religious morals. Perhaps you should go and ask all the christians who take casino bus trips if they are worried about their place in heaven. Take a break and have some fun.

[Parent and educator]

Jim wrote:

<quoted text>
Have you actually been to Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods? They're not the den of thieves you have pictured in your mind.
I'm not saying that it is a good thing, I'm saying that it has been around and will continue to be for a long time and why not use it to our advantage.
You have tied these casinos together with illegal drugs and prostitution. Sorry they're not the same. Go and see for yourself.
It sounds like your point of view is born of religious morals. Perhaps you should go and ask all the christians who take casino bus trips if they are worried about their place in heaven. Take a break and have some fun.

No, no, no -- you missed my point! I did not mean for anyone to think I am saying casinos are places filled with drugs, prostitution, and crime. My point in bringing up drugs and prostitution is that, like gambling, they are victimless crimes with a great deal of potential for generating revenue.

For me it is about economics and long-term sustainability, not about religious beliefs. And I haven't been inside a church except for weddings and funerals for over 20 years...

[just me]

bring it up to North Adams---they can buy all the land they need CHEAP and maybe buy the whole city for a handfull of beads---far more than it's worth.

[Beagle]

just me wrote:

bring it up to North Adams---they can buy all the land they need CHEAP and maybe buy the whole city for a handfull of beads---far more than it's worth.

How about the Greenfield area? Turners has hired Gale Associates of Weymouth MA to help them with lengthening the runway at the airport so that private jets can fly in. Believe it or not, having a place for jets to bring in the high rollers is viewed by the casino business as a big, big plus. I'm not sure how many people in the Turners area today would be flying in and out in their private jets. Maybe a few DA students would use them, and Bill Cosby would definitely use his jet(s) instead of the big prop plane he uses now, but lengthening that runway would benefit a casino more than anything else.

Turners also has the Native American thing going for it with the historic attack by Capt. Wm. Turner on the Indians in May 1676, which pretty much shut down the King Philip's War.

You've got the intersection of I-91 and Rt. 2. Add a golf course or two into the mix and you might just land a casino in the Turners/Greenfield MA area. Stranger things have happened.

[MIKE]

What about crime? Dont you think that a casino will bring along added crime in the host city?

[Gordon Lightfoot Res]

"I hear-that the Hadley crew-who brought you Holyoke-Hampshire-Berkshire Mall-Pyramid Group,Inc, is planning a new "Gordon Lightfoot "Chief Sitting Bull" Indian reservation Mt Toby state park-casino-to rival-Banf Canadian National RR near Calgary,Alberta, W. Canada"....(bull Hill Rd-Sunderland)near Warner Bros pit....

[SubLiterate]

just me wrote:

bring it up to North Adams---they can buy all the land they need CHEAP and maybe buy the whole city for a handfull of beads---far more than it's worth.

I'm with you! Maybe that can be the last act of our outgoing mayor - to trade the smoking ruins of 26 years of mismanagement for some beads, a handful of scratch tickets, and a '87 Buick LeSabre!