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Middleborough (Middleboro), Massachusetts Mashpee Wampanoag Resort Casino
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Hal Brown, Editor and Publisher

Archive: November 2007

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CasinoFacts.org supporters double down on playing the race card
and Hal Brown attempts to respond on Mr. Limo's Middleboro Casino Forum

11/28/07 --- It all started with my starting a new topic on the go-to forum for debating not only the Middleboro casino, but gambling in general and just about any Middleboro subject.

I wanted to express my objection to an article in The Brockton Enterprise, a daily paper which covers Middleborough and editorially has always been anti-casino.

The reporter covered a meeting held in a nearby town where a member of the CasinoFacts.org board was to address local resident of West Bridgewater. The article noted that only one resient showed up but then went on to report on interviews with CFO members who voiced the usual anti-casino talking points.

Only there was one difference which I felt needed to be discussed. The person interviewed used three phrases which I felt were codes meant to alarm people who were predisposed to have prejudice about members of the lower socio-economic class.

The ensuing discussion on Mr. Limo's forum brought to the fore what I believe is a tactic being used by anti-casino forces to deal with any serious discussion of prejudice. They claim that whoever brings up such issues is playing the "race card".

In fact, what they are doing is "doubling down" with their own race card in an attempt to keep anyone from accusing them of pandering to prejudiced residents who eventually may become voters on whether they want a casino in their town.

While you will have some trouble following the debate just by reading my post below, you can get the general idea. If you want to read the entire thread titled An appeal to prejudice: CFO director talks about "hot bunking", "influx of low wage workers" and "warehousing workers you will have to register as a member of the forum.

Read my posts here

 

The Boston Globe gets it! Class II casinos are a viable back-up for Mashpee

11/18/07 --Matt Viser writes about what the Seminole are doing with class II gambling in Florida, and what will be likely to happen if the Mashpee go the class II route as their fall-back position if the state doesn't approve class III gaming.

I'm glad this finally made it into the mainstream press with Viser's comprehensive article in today's Globe. It's great that a reporter finally made it to Florida for an in-person report on what a casino like the Hard Rock is like. (Tough assignment - LOL) I think he is are the first local reporter to report on the deal just reached between Florida and the Seminole (see article on far right).

Here are a few excerpts, but no substitute for reading the entire four page article:

Quote

If Patrick fails in his quest, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe will continue pursuing an independent bid to open a casino using federal Indian gaming laws, with slot machines that are only subtly different from the norm. Under that scenario, it would be highly likely that Massachusetts will have the equivalent of the Hard Rock some day in Middleborough.

Quote:

The casino in Hollywood (Hard Rock in Florida) has many of the trappings Patrick would like to see at Massachusetts casinos. In addition to a 130,000-square-foot casino in the center of the complex, there is a gauntlet of outdoor restaurants and retail stores - everything from Brats, a children's clothing store, to Hooters, where chicken wings are served by waitresses in skimpy clothing - and a 5,500-seat theater where big-name artists perform. To attract a wider clientele, there is a European-style spa and fitness center, 50,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, and a 4.5-acre lagoon-style pool where parents watch over their sun-splashed children about 100 feet from the casino hall.

Quote:

In the most recent development, Florida negotiated with the Seminoles for a share of the tribe's proceeds, in exchange for allowing the tribe to adopt the more lucrative Las Vegas-style rules on its slot machines.

Read entire article here: Seminoles casino holds lesson for Massachusets

mmm

Column:

Compromise
by Tony Lawrence

Tony Lawrence11/4/07 -- This casino fight is a good example of conflicting social mores.

One the one hand we have those who don't like gambling because of their belief that any activity harmful to society should be banned, and on the other we have those who are willing to accept harm to some elements of society if most others find the activity useful (enjoyable in the case of gambling) and harmless. We can draw parallels to abortion/anti abortion arguments, liquor licenses, adult entertainment and so on, and often the "home rule" solution is pushed forward: let local citizens decide what is best for their community.

That's a popular solution. It recognizes that the cultural values of a large city are different from those of a rural community, and lets that rural community set its own rules: "community standards" is the phrase used to describe this.

I think that community standards just guarantee isolationism and will eventually lead to conflict. In other words, I do NOT think that local communities should decide what mores will be enforced in their jurisdiction. Why? Stop for a moment and think about why concentrated population areas have what the more conservative rural areas would call "loose" morals? Why is that so often the case, why do the highly populated East and West coasts tend toward liberal views while the less populated regions are more conservative?

You can make some argument that education has something to do with it, and perhaps it does. But the biggest reason that high population areas are liberal in their morals is because of the large numbers of people who have to get along with each other. People make concessions to other people's desires. Sometimes the concessions may be given a little begrudgingly, but more often they come from living with diversity and realizing that society did not collapse because of those with different cultural values from ours. Tolerance may have begun out of necessity, but it often ends up that there really was nothing to worry about at all. Clothing customs that might still cause shock in rural areas become acceptable, even hum-drum. Alcohol served in restaurants turns out to be a pleasant addition to a meal and so on. Being exposed to diversity helps us learn tolerance.

I believe that we need to embrace tolerance. We all need to understand that different cultures will see certain activities differently than we do. The Muslim custom of covering women's faces is no different than our culture's demands to cover breasts and genitals - and in fact comes from the same fears. If we are ever going to have world peace, the Muslim needs to tolerate the nudist and vice versa. We as a nation and as a world need to try to move beyond this idea that our culture is the "right" culture. We need to be more concerned with individual rights and less driven by the majority's prejudice.

Impossible? Sure, right now it absolutely is. But we can move toward a goal even if we can't honestly imagine ever getting there, and every step we take will improve us.

So what does this have to do with the casino?

Again, tolerance. Recognition of the other sides point of view, and genuine effort toward compromise. Certainly that may seem impossible at times. For some on the anti-casino side, there is no compromise: gambling is evil, it must not be allowed and that's all that there is to that. We can't compromise with people who take that position.

But not all anti's are so inflexible. Many may feel that the world would be a better place without casinos, but they also have a good view of reality and understand that there are large numbers of people who enjoy social gambling harmlessly. We can talk productively with those antis.

Talk about what? Talk about the things that upset them, their fears of gambling addiction, traffic, and so on. For every negative impact, recognize that there are remedial measures. Some will have their own impact on the "harmless enjoyment" crowd, but perhaps we are willing to accept some of that in the interests of greater overall happiness.

In a better world, we never would have voted "Yes" or "No" on the casino issue. The "Yes" would have been automatic, but there would have been immediate work toward mitigation and amelioration. All objections would have been considered seriously, and the process would never end - that is, you'd never have "we agreed to provide band-aids and if you are now pulsing blood from an arterial wound, well, you'll just have to make do". The process of listening to minority concerns woould be automatic, normal, and on-going. We are a long, long way from such a world, but that doesn't mean we can't move toward it. We can at least start trying to embrace tolerance, at least make a token effort toward trying to see the other person's point of view.

In a phrase, "Can't we all just get along?". Does it always have to be all or nothing? Why not at least try to approach this and all social arguments in a spirit of compromise?

Idealism? No, we all know that we'll never attain that goal perfectly. There always will be selfish and self centered people and there always will be situations where there are irreconcilable differences between two or more groups: abortion is obviously one, and gambling might be another. But that doesn't mean that we can't work toward a goal, that we can't try to teach our children that the majority should have no right to bully, that minority opinions deserve not just respect but demand a genuine effort to be honored and allowed. We will never be perfect, we may never even come close to a utopian ideal, but that shouldn't discourage us from seeing the goal as desirable. We can work toward a goal while still understanding that we can never reach it absolutely.

Even on difficult issues like this, we can TRY for compromise. We may expect that the strong anti-casino core will turn a blind eye, but that doesn't mean that all anti's are so unreasonable. If we don't try, if we don't reach out to them for the sake of the greater good, then we are as guilty as the unbudging core is.

 

Tony Lawrence: Archives of Columns

 

 

 

Archives for September, 2007

A new study about the dangers of gambling addiction was reported on today in The Gateway, the student newspaper from the University of Alberta, Canada.

Study links gambling and suicide.

11/20/07 -- The study, as the title of the article indicates, links gambling with increased rates of suicide.

One of the authors of the study saw fit to offer his personal opinion as follows:

Thompson added that overall, the study suggests the increasing number and promotion of casinos is basically adding salt to the gambling wound, and that reducing the amount of pathological gamblers starts with decreasing exposure to gambling institutions.

“The evidence overall is that gambling in the form of casinos is a social evil, and because of its [...] addictive nature, it is not about freedom of choice,” Thompson said. “Gambling is not about the exercise of free choice in the way we ordinarily conceive it—at least [not] any more than it is for an addict taking heroin or an alcoholic having another drink.”

I strongly disagree with the first premise, i.e., that "reducing the amount of pathological gamblers starts with decreasing exposure to gambling institutions."

I think the first step to reducing problem gambling starts with ongoing education from early teens on up. Education in reducing numbers of those disorders preventable by behavior (from addiction to AIDS) is far more effective in the long run than after-the-fact measures.

I think his comparison between casino gambling in general and an addict taking heroin is not logical. Most people who gamble regularly for a period of time do not become gambling addicts. I think that most people who use heroin regularly for a period of time do become heroin addicts.

I think experts would agree that opiates are highly addictive and that gambling falls far lower on any scale to measure use or behavior and eventual addiction.

I wish researchers would stick to the results of their studies and stop preaching at us. Calling casinos a social evil doesn't do much good when they are sprouting up like mushrooms and have become the fastest growing part of the entertainment industry.

I have no problem with anyone trying to put the brakes on the opening of new casinos. However, it would also be socially beneficial if gambling addiction researchers offered suggestions that are more realistic that eliminating the building of new casinos.

I would like to see both pro and con groups need work together to assure that this model is used in Massachusetts.

The Reno Model

It is something we all should be familiar with:

The ‘Reno Model’ and Monitoring over Time

Blaszczynski, Ladouceur and Shaffer (2004) describe a set of principles that they argue should guide health and social service agencies, industry operators, interested community groups, consumers and governments and their related agencies in the adoption and implementation of problem gambling prevention and harm minimization initiatives. This framework, which they dub the ‘Reno model,’ is needed because gambling markets are not yet characterized by socially responsible regulatory efforts with demonstrated effectiveness for targeted groups. The ‘Reno model’ consists of five principles:

• The key stakeholders will commit to reducing the incidence and ultimately the prevalence of gambling-related harms;
• Working collaboratively, the key stakeholders will inform and evaluate public policy aimed at reducing the incidence of gambling-related harms;
• Key stakeholders will collaboratively identify short- and long-term priorities thereby establishing an action plan to address these priorities within a recognized time frame;
• Key stakeholders will use scientific research to guide the development of public policies. In addition, the gambling industry will use this research as a guide to the development of industry-based strategic policies that will reduce the incidence and prevalence of gambling- related harms; and
• Once established, the action plan will be monitored and evaluated using scientific methods.

An essential element in this approach is a gambling monitoring system to provide policy makers, the gambling industry, health and social service agencies and other stakeholders with a neutral informational database for strategic analysis and decision-making. Internationally, a growing number of governments—including Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and South Africa—have begun to establish systems to monitor the impacts of legal gambling on citizens and communities over extended periods of time(Volberg, 2004). However, these efforts are only a few years old and little is known about ‘best practices’ in this regard.

Ref: Pages 98-99

We need to learn from the experiences, both the mistakes (and there have been many) and the successes of other state and countries in handling problem gambling.

I believe that Massachusetts can lead the way with a best practices model for prevention and treatment of problem gambling. It will cost money up front, probably even more than is being talked about at present.

Gambling addiction is one of the topics on Mr. Limo's Forum, where the above has been posted on page 7.

by Hal Brown, LICSW, Editor, Casino-Friend.com
Psychotherapist in general adult practice, and not an expert on addiction.

 

National Indian Gaming Commission
Publishes Class II Regulations


Press Release -- Washington DC, October 24, 2007 – Today the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) announced the publishing of four proposed rules in the Federal Register: classification standards to distinguish between Class II games played with technologic aids and Class III facsimiles of games of chance, a revision of the definition of “electronic or electromechanical facsimile,” technical standards for class II gaming, and Class II minimum internal control standards (MICS).

As with every other segment of today’s economy and society, computerization and advances in technology have changed the way today’s gaming is conducted. These changes have blurred the distinction between Class II bingo, lotto, “other games similar to bingo,” pull tabs or instant bingo played primarily through “electronic, computer or other technologic aids” and Class III “facsimiles of any game of chance.”

“These proposed standards will clarify the distinction between the technological aids tribes may use to play Class II games—bingo and the like--which may be utilized without compacts with their states, from that equipment used for the play of Class III games, such as slot machines, which may only be played when there is an approved tribal-state compact for that activity,” Commission Chairman Phil Hogen said.

Hogen continued, “Without a clear demarcation, I am concerned that confusion and contention over the technology to be used for uncompacted, Class II play will lead to challenges to the dominant market position many tribes have worked so hard to establish with their Class II gaming. Those challenges could come in the way of allegations that technology for Class II has gone beyond its limit. It could come as well by increased competition for this market where states expand their limits on bingo-type technology, if they see no meaningful constraints on tribal activity in this area.”

“Bingo and Class II gaming is the bedrock upon which Indian gaming was built, and its integrity needs to be maintained,” Hogen said. “With the bright line that will be drawn when these regulations are finalized, tribes may confidently invest in equipment, lenders concerns over challenges in this area will be allayed, and tribes will have a clearer basis from which to negotiate with states for Class III compacts” Hogen concluded.

The Commission is proposing a companion regulation designed to be implemented with the classification standards. This contains technical standards for the equipment used to aid the play of class II games. This proposed rule would establish technical standards for Class II games that are played primarily through “electronic, computer, or other technologic aids.” The proposed rule would also establish a process for assuring the integrity of such games and aids before their placement in a Class II tribal gaming operation. No such standards currently exist. The Commission has proposed this action in order to assist tribal gaming regulatory authorities and operators in ensuring the integrity and security of Class II games and gaming revenue.

The Commission is proposing a second companion rule -- Class II Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICS). The proposed rule is limited to internal controls for bingo and other games similar bingo. This is the Commission’s first step toward the full separation of Class II and Class III MICS.

The NIGC will accept comments for a 45-day period from date of publication in the Federal Register.

The proposed rules address:

  • Classification Standards for Class II Games
  • Definition for “Electronic or Electromechanical Facsimile"
  • Minimum Internal Control Standards for Class II Gaming
  • Technical Standards for Class II Games

The NIGC is an independent regulatory agency established within the Department of the Interior pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

You can read an html text version of the proposed rules here. This is more readable then the PDF version on the main website.

Also of interest related to Class II gaming is this Nov. 16, 2007 editorial from Indian Country.Com .

 

British gambling study has surprise conclusion

A new study just released in England reports that the expected increase in problem gambling following a change in the law there to allow more casino advertising has not occurred. In fact the number who actually gamble in the U.K. has fallen in the past eight years.

Quote:
Since the (British) Gambling Act of 2005 relaxed rules on advertising for casinos and online gambling sites and introduced powers to license so-called super-casinos, fears have been raised about a possible surge in problem gamblers. Just before the British Gambling Prevalence Survey 2007 was published two months ago there was a flurry of media stories predicting exactly this.

But they were wrong. Contrary to speculation, the number classed as problem gamblers - more than 250,000 - is about the same as in the last prevalence survey in 1999. And the number of adults who gamble has fallen by about one million in the past eight years.

Click Here for entire article.

I attempt to objectively report on gambling and mental health. I challenge the local anti-casino group to present both sides of the issue. This article on a "social care" website doesn't minimize the problem of gambling addiction, nor do I.

This article also emphasizes the seriousness of adolescent online gambling, something I have also addressed. Knowing that teens are becoming involved in gambling through the Internet here as well suggests that the United States needs to address this behavior now with education programs before they move on to become adult problem gamblers.

This is not just a Middleboro or Massachusetts problem, it is a national health problem.

To the credit of this British social care website they objectively report on a study that indicates that a law many thought would increase the numbers of gamblers actually didn't.

Addiction prevention is the key to making casino gambling the safe fun recreation it should be.

Mashpee's fall-back position bolstered by Seminole decision in Florida

11/15/07 -- This is a major news story because class II gambling is the fall-back position for the Mashpee if the state doesn't approve class III gambling.


Click Here: Florida reaches gambling deal with Seminole Tribe

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov 14 (Reuters) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday announced a 25-year compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida to offer Las Vegas-style gambling on tribal lands across the state.

"One day before a federally imposed deadline, Crist and the tribe, which last year bought the Hard Rock cafe and casino rock-music-themed business, reached a deal allowing more lucrative slot machines and card games at the tribe's seven casinos in Florida.

"The deal gives the state guaranteed payments from the Seminoles, while the tribe wins a promise from the state to bar competing casinos from opening anywhere in the state outside of south Florida's Broward and Miami-Dade counties." Reuters.

While this case only effects the Seminole in Florida, it could be a ground-breaking legal model for the Mashpee if all they can establish here is a class II casino.

Here's the Associated Press article.

 

Archives for September, 2007

 

 

It's real. It's serious. But because Middleboro almost certain to host a resort that is also a major casino, we should learn the basics about this psychiatric disorder.

What is compulsive gambling?
 

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