Hello,

Wynn Resorts' newly announced $1.3-$1.5 billion waterfront resort casino proposal now goes head to head with Caesars Entertainment $1 billion proposal for the prized Boston casino license.
 

Wynn Everett
 

Caesars Suffolk Downs

Both proposals tap the Boston metro market, New England's biggest, and access to Logan Airport. Both are pitching luxury hotel towers, water taxis from the downtown and airport, spas, multiple five-star restaurants, concert halls, upscale retail, and convention facilities.

The question for New Hampshire legislators

Will a Massachusetts resident living inside the I-495 ring drive to Boston or to a third-string, local-market slot machine casino in Salem pre-wired in SB152 for Las-Vegas based Millennium Gaming?

The answer is obvious.

Gambler money going into Salem or into any other New Hampshire casino will flow primarily from New Hampshire residents living within 30 minutes' drive. And because local-market casinos generate no new skills, wealth, or exportable product and pay below living wages, casino jobs and casino revenues here will be cannibalized from thousands of existing local New Hampshire merchants.

Concord's Main Street and Capitol Center for the Arts, Manchester's Elm Street and Verizon Center, Nashua's downtown, and restaurants, hotels, and nonprofit arts and cultural venues -- particularly in the Southern half of New Hampshire -- will take the hit. And where local businesses and nonprofits recycle money back into our local economies, the casino would send the profits back to Las Vegas.

All this injury to our communities for $80 million in casino license money that won't come in time for the next state budget and for the estimated $45 million in casino taxes starting 4-5 years later that won't even cover the increased criminal justice and welfare cost burdens stemming for the increased addiction and household bankruptcies caused by the casino.

New Hampshire Public Policy Research Center, March, 2013

Casino backers now freely admit that Massachusetts casinos will eat into existing state revenue sources and cause costly gambling addictions here. But they reach the absurd conclusion that we should make the problem worse by putting casinos inside New Hampshire, closer to where New Hampshire residents live and closer to New Hampshire businesses that will be cannibalized, driving our net negatives even higher.

Nashua Mayor Opposes Casinos

For these and other reasons, Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau yesterday reiterated her long-standing opposition to casinos. "I've never thought gambling was a good thing to bet on. To me, I don't think it has a place in New Hampshire," said the Mayor.

Mayor Lozeau reached the same conclusion as Ledyard, Connecticut's former Mayor, "There has been no economic development spin-off from the [Foxwoods] casino ... Gamblers have one thing in mind: get to the casino, win or lose their money, get in their cars, and go home."

What to do?