By all means, I encourage everyone to get the facts about casinos. But at the same time I want to caution people that there are facts and purported facts. I believe that the publishers of CasinoFacts.org and those who post on their website mix the two in order to encourage opposition to a Middleboro casino.

Studies sometimes contradict each other. Just because someone did a study or survey doesn't mean that the results are either scientifically valid, or applicable to our unique situation here in Middleboro. We are different from many, perhaps, most communities who now have Indian casinos, or who are likely to play host to a mega Indian resort casino in the future.

We can also benefit from studying the mistakes, some of them colossal, made by other communities.

An example of how CasinoFacts distorts scientific studies.

A January, 2005 study "The Casino Gamble in Massachusetts" by Phineas Baxandall (John F. Kennedy School of Economics, Harvard University) and Bruce Sacerdote (Department of Economics, Dartmouth College, NH) says:

For over a decade, advocates of casinos in the Commonwealth have argued about whether legalized gambling would produce prosperity or ruin. Our analysis - which compares the experience of counties in the United States that house casinos with those that do not - suggests that both sides are wrong.

Instead, the introduction of a casino does appear to produce a few modestly positive effects, a few negative impacts, and in several areas, no statistically significant effect at all.

This study concluded that in communities hosting casinos:

• More jobs were dispersed among more people.

• There was no impact on unemployment rates.

• There was a limited positive effect on some house prices.

• There was a modest increase in bankruptcies.

• There was more total crime but less per-capita crime.

• There was no impact on total revenues or expenditures.

• There was a decline in per-capital spending and revenues.

The authors conclude that "economic, fiscal, or public safety factors are insufficient to either deny or invite casinos into Massachusetts. Consequently, policy makers considering proposals to allow legalized gambling in Massachusetts must consider other less quantitative factors."

This is how the group associated with casinofacts.org referenced the study following on their website:

The Wamponoags have publicly stated their intention to build a casino "similar to Mohegan Sun". According to a 2005 study - The Casino Gamble In Massachuetts, Mega-Casinos(like Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun) Correlated with increases in crime   Reduced earnings in hotel and retail business within a 50 mile radius   Reduced local government revenue by 7 percent   Reduced general merchandise earnings by 57 percent withn a 50 mile radius

We need to be wary of comparing apples and oranges. For that matter, we need to understand that Macintosh apples are quite different than Fuji apples.

When look at a study like the one referenced above, we need to carefully review the results and determine if there are ways to enhance the positives and minimize the negatives.

Reaching for knowledge on a stack of encyclopedias, from a May 1, 1869 ad in the Middleboro Gazette for the Encyclopedia Britannica.

When we read articles which cite studies it makes sense for us to read the original articles, and when we read articles which themselves cite studies, we should track down the original studies. We shouldn't take at face value the conclusion that a study says such and such without assuring ourselves that said conclusion hasn't been removed from a context that would alter its meaning. When we know we have a bias we must try especially hard to look objectively at opposing arguments. In this instance, both sides make good cases for and against a casino. Those of us advocating for working with the Mashpee Wampanoag for the betterment of Middleboro are listening to your arguments. We hope you are listening to ours. We all want what is best for Middleboro.

When it comes to surveys, we need to look at who sponsored them and whether they were conducted by a well known firm.

It is also advisable to look at the journal in which any article is published to make sure it is a reputable peer reviewed professional journal.

We might remind ourselves that in the arcane academic world of sociology and its cousin, criminology, among those eager to publish we occasionally find, to paraphrase a comment my statistics professor once made, liars, damn liars and worst of all, statisticians with a bias and hidden agenda.

 "GET THE FACTS!"  makes a loud statement.

They stated on the top of their website, as of June 1st, that:

A mega-casino/resort will:

• Cost Middleboro millions of dollars by increasing strain on all departments (fire, police, emergency, water, sewer, power, etc) and by moving taxable jobs and revenue to the casino - which does not pay local or state taxes or need to abide by any state or local regulation.
• Drastically increase crime, drunk driving, traffic, and social problems from addiction. These negatives will be running through town 24 hours a day, 7 days a week within just a one or two miles of our schools and downtown area.
• Strain our schools by introduction of low-wage casino workers who will bring 20+ languages into the school system.

The last sentence was changed on on or around June 5th to read: "Strain our schools with an influx of casino employees. This will cost money. A lot of money."

Ask yourself how they know these things?

Are they saying that the Mashpee Wampanoag and Middleboro are the same as tribes and townspeople from other areas where things didn't go as well as hoped?

Or do they have a crystal ball?

Are they exaggerating for effect when they say there will be a "drastic" increase in the problems they list?

Are they presenting the worst case possible? And on the last point, did they recognize a tinge of prejudice against children from diverse racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds and change the text on their website a few days after it appeared?

I would like to urge people to get the information, analyze it, and only then decide what the facts are, if indeed we find facts rather than speculation.

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