Major players show up at casino gaming forum
Date: 8/13/2012
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comSPRINGFIELD — Sometimes the pre-game show is just as interesting as the game itself and the meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission proved to be no exception.
The four hour-plus meeting convened at Western New England University on Aug. 8 as part of a series of educational forums conducted around the state.
According to the official press release, "Members of the community joined the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and panelists in Western [Massachusetts] to discuss key issues associated with the introduction of expanded gaming including tourism, community mitigation and workforce development. The forum presentations covered a collection of informative mitigation and regional planning matters for the Commission and the community to carefully consider as the Commonwealth moves toward the realization of expanded gaming. The session provided the opportunity to hear from a panel of experts with experience from both Massachusetts and out-of-state who will be able to provide unique and informative perspectives on this process."
The forum was also a place to be seen and to check out the various players in the unfolding casino developer selection drama. State Sen. Gale Candaras, who helped organize the forum, noted in her remarks opening the meeting that at first, officials in Boston had discounted the interest in a casino in this part of the state.
"Western Massachusetts is absolutely the hot spot in the state," she said.
Outside of Rivers Memorial where the forum was presented, about 30 protesters were holding signs against the casino.
Across from them, a group of people wearing T-shirts stating "Palmer First" looked on.
The spokesperson for the anti-casino group, Rev. Dr. Phil Chiang of the Springfield Chinese Christian Church, cited an increase in crime and rates of poverty would accompany a casino.
"We just don't want this kind of business to be around our neighbors," he said.
Many of the signs connected various developers with organized crime.
Just inside a group of reporters had set up camp so they could watch for players to interview, including Steve Crosby, chair of the commission.
Crosby discussed the decision to allow developers to submit an application that would allow them access to various state agencies for information that could assist them in the preparation of their plans. A $400,000 fee would accompany the application.
"We're trying to walk a line between moving too quick and being prudent," Crosby said.
When asked about the status of the process so far, Crosby said, "It is playing out as the law intended."
He explained the goal of the legislation is to encourage competition among developers to maximize revenue to the state and to the host community while minimizing any negative impact.
Judith Matt, president of the Spirit of Springfield, the non-profit organization that presents activities such as the annual Pancake Breakfast, Bright Nights in Forest Park and the July Fourth fireworks, is a casino supporter.
As both someone who lives and works in Springfield, Matt believes a casino in Springfield would bring "an influx of cash and jobs we really need."
Matt also said that she likes both downtown locations that have been mentioned in press coverage: the area defined by the Peter Pan Bus terminal and the Republican building in the North End and the South End site comprised of the Howard and Bliss street blocks from Main Street to Columbus Boulevard.
The downtown sites have received a lot of attention, despite the fact that only one casino developer has actually put their money where their intentions are: Ameristar.
Jonathan Little, director of Government & Community Relations for Ameristar, was also at the forum. When asked if Ameristar would submit an application to the state to move their plans further, he said he couldn't comment. When asked how company officials have reacted to Springfield Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy's advocacy of a downtown site, he also couldn't comment.
He asked this reporter to send the questions by email and he would forward them to company officials. As of press time for this edition no response had been received.
The appearance of West Springfield Mayor Gregory Neffinger made some reporters wonder if West Springfield was going to enter the race with its neighbors. Neffinger said he was there in order to learn more about how a casino development would affect the nearby communities and how mitigation funds would be distributed.
He noted a downtown Springfield casino would be "just the width of the Connecticut River" from his community and he expressed concerns about public safety.
Speros Batistatos, president of South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority in Indiana near the border of Chicago, Ill. — was at the forum to present his experiences in adjusting to the impact of casinos. In the area his group serves, there are five casinos.
Batistatos said if existing businesses want to benefit from the people visiting the casinos, "It's incumbent on the small business person, incumbent on the existing hotel to get in their [the casino's] faces and market themselves."
Although he called it a challenge, he added, "It's not an insurmountable challenge."
Whether or not the business community as represented by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield will support a casino development effort will be known in four or five weeks, Jeffrey Ciuffreda, president of the group said. A new group of chamber members has been formed to answer that question.
