Penn National just broke ground on its Plainville slots parlor, the Plainridge Park Casino, a few months ago. It won’t open until next spring. But the racetrack casino will begin hiring in September — just in time to use newly-minted casino employees to beat back a casino repeal referendum in November.
Casinos across the northeast are facing economic headwinds. “The entire industry knows that there’s too much supply for the demand that’s out there,” Richard McGowan, a Boston College economist told the New York Times recently. The ratings agency Moody’s recently downgraded the entire industry. Advocates of November’s casino repeal referendum have seized on the casino industry’s recent troubles. But casino opponents aren’t advancing a cohesive argument for repeal in November. Instead, they’ve assembled a dizzying array of reasons to vote for repeal; at last count, there were 31 of them.
Casino firms and their supporters are taking a far simpler and more direct stance in defending the state’s gambling law. Their message is about one thing, and one thing only: jobs. House Speaker Bob DeLeo sold the Legislature on casinos by calling his casino legalization bill a “jobs bill.” And opponents of November’s casino referendum will be striking a similar note. Shortly after the Supreme Judicial Court cleared the way for a casino repeal ballot question, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno pledged to fight it, saying the pro-casino effort was “about bringing thousands of good paying jobs,” and “bringing millions of dollars of tax revenue to the city of Springfield and in turn to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, described his company’s fight against the referendum as a fight “for jobs and economic prosperity for the Commonwealth.”
The casino industry’s ramp-up to this fall’s ballot campaign has stayed close to this path. The Globe reported last week that, “the pro-casino message to voters will be built around the issues of creating jobs and repatriating revenue that Massachusetts gamblers spend at out-of-state casinos. Those messages have tested well in the industry’s polling, one of the people familiar with the campaign said.”
The Globe also noted that the pro-casino campaign has been filming at Penn National’s Plainville construction site: “They have been quietly gathering video for television commercials showing workers building the state’s first slot parlor, underscoring the argument that a vote for casinos is a vote for jobs.”
Penn National’s decision to start hiring at Plainridge takes this gambit a step further. The people Penn National hires in September won’t have a casino to work in until several months into next year. But they’ll be working on swaying votes in the casino referendum right away.
— PAUL MCMORROW
BEACON HILL
The state granted two provisional licenses for marijuana dispensaries to a company run by a man who falsely stated he had a college degree in his application — even though Gov. Deval Patrick vowed that no one who lied on an application would get a license.
A state panel deals a setback to those trying to double-dip in the state pension system.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
An estranged cousin of Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan has been charged under an antiquated statute for “annoying or accosting a person of the opposite sex” by posting a picture of the city’s corporation counsel on his Facebook page and writing a sexually explicit caption, which he said was protected political speech.
A new report from the US Conference of Mayors says income inequality has not been growing as wide in Boston as in other cities.
Cambridge needs to rethink its approach to development — but not by handing power over permits to the City Council, writes Paul McMorrow.
CASINOS
The Boston Business Journal uncovers a late June letter from the Massachusetts chapter of the American Institute of Architects panning the proposed hotel tower of Wynn Resorts in Everett.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn , the outgoing chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency known for ruffling feathers with his blunt assessments, has a dire and scary view of where the world is heading, calling it “the most uncertain, chaotic and confused international environment that I’ve witnessed in my entire career.”
Hawaii shows itself to be a model of disaster preparedness after two back-to-back hurricanes brush the islands. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service adds new threat levels for severe storms.
President Obama takes a pass on the ALS ice bucket challenge; he plans to make a donation instead.
Frank Rich argues that Hillary Clinton needs to take notes from noted Clinton-basher Edward Klein.
ELECTIONS
Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker and Democrats spar over the high rate of homelessness in Massachusetts, the Associated Press reports.
Attorney General Martha Coakley answers questions on Greater Boston about the balance between doing her job and campaigning for governor.
The Herald tails Don Berwick for a day.
Broadside sits down with Karyn Polito, the Republican candidate running for lieutenant governor.
A U.S News & World Report analysis of polling data finds Democrats’ problems with white males may be more pronounced than Republicans’ issues with women, giving the GOP the upper hand in its quest to control Congress.
Trying to stave off a GOP takeover of the Senate, President Obama jumps from dealing with global crises to schmoozing with big-dollar donors at a Vineyard fundraiser for Democrats.
UConn professor Jelani Cobb calls the national Republican Party “a party invested in the electoral yields of racism,” and questions whether Republicans can ever appeal to significant numbers of black voters.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Just months away from the completion of renovations on New Bedford’s South Terminal for use as an offshore wind staging port, questions are being raised about the ability of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to manage the facility.
A “very, very special case” is how one labor relations expert describes the unified action being taken by non-unionized workers at Market Basket. Meanwhile, the supermarket standoff is affecting supplies at MetroWest food pantries.
Federal aid for fishermen could end up being taxed depending on how the money is used, the Gloucester Times reports.
HEALTH CARE
Veterans on Nantucket may soon be able to access VA health care services on the island for the first time in a decade, the Globe reports.
The owners of a planned medical marijuana dispensary in Brockton have been granted a critical permit to use the city’s drinking water to grow thousands of marijuana plants.
After Salem last week approved an increase in the minimum smoking age from 18 to 21, Andover officials say they want to play catch up, the Eagle-Tribune reports.
Doctors ponder whether Robin Williams’ death will spur a national conversation about suicide: More Americans die by their own hand than in car accidents.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Two years after the slaying of three young women in Boston, families wait for authorities to crack the case.