Q&A with Clyde Barrow on … gambling on the future
Do you think a casino in Southeast Massachusetts would help the regional economy, or hurt it? Why?
There is no doubt that a resort casino would help the regional economy. First, a casino would recapture a significant portion of the $1.1 billion per year that is currently leaving Massachusetts for Connecticut’s and Rhode Island’s gaming facilities. Second, it would also likely capture some of the $115 million in traffic going from New Hampshire and Maine to those same casinos. Third, it would probably generate some new traffic and expenditures from out-of-state and foreign visitors, who otherwise might never leave Boston.
These are all sources of “import” income; that is, the casino bringing in new money or money that was otherwise leaving the state. The net impact would be anywhere from 2,500 to 3,000 new jobs within the first 18 months of operation. Approximately 75 percent to 85 percent of jobs at resort casinos are full-time benefited positions and new casinos typically draw anywhere from 10 percent to 15 percent of their initial workforce directly off a state’s unemployment and welfare rolls. Add to these impacts the effects of new employee spending and local purchases by the casino and you have a significant regional economic impact.
There are casinos located as close as Rhode Island and Connecticut. Are they diverting tourists and dollars from the Cape right now?
The Rhode Island “racinos” are convenience gambling facilities that draw most of their customers from within a 30-mile radius. Connecticut’s casinos draw most of their customers from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York. Many of these customers are taking day trips or weekend getaways, not just to gamble, but to enjoy the entire spectrum of resort amenities now offered by the casinos – spas, golf, concerts, shopping, dancing, gourmet dining and other entertainment. This is the type of patron that has traditionally fueled much of the Cape’s hospitality economy.
Hundreds of millions of dollars are leaving Massachusetts for casinos in neighboring states. Would the Cape benefit somewhat if most of those dollars stayed in Massachusetts?
The Cape would benefit directly from some of the off-Cape employment opportunities for residents. However, the greatest benefit to the Cape is likely to be additional revenues for municipal government, assuming that a significant portion of gaming taxes are earmarked for local aid, as I hope that would be if expanded gaming is authorized in Massachusetts.
How have other tourist locations near casinos fared by their presence? Have the casinos diverted dollars or attracted corollary spending?
One need not look any further than Connecticut. New London County went from having the highest unemployment rate of any county in the state to having the lowest unemployment rate – and this occurred at a time when the submarine and shipbuilding industry was collapsing in that region.
New London County has simultaneously emerged as Connecticut’s premier tourism destination with an estimated $2.5 billion tourist industry (not including the casinos). The expansion of that county’s hospitality sector has been fueled by the 40,000 to 80,000 visitors coming to that region every day because of the casinos. You can find the same story in Gulfport or Biloxi, Mississippi, and, contrary to the misinformation that is often given out as fact, the number of off-site food and beverage outlets in Atlantic City has increased since casino gambling was authorized in 1976.
If they have attracted corollary spending, could the Cape benefit from the ripple effects of a casino as close as Middleboro?
It’s possible, but I don’t see the Cape as either a major beneficiary or a loser as a result of expanded gambling. Many of the spin-offs are due to employee spending or casino patrons looking for more moderately priced lodging and eating places, as well as other forms of entertainment and recreation. Some of that could spin off to the Cape.
How could or should the Cape mobilize to take advantage of a nearby casino?
Vacation packages that include the Cape. The Connecticut and Atlantic City casinos have been very adept at this strategy and most casinos are looking for these types of partnerships.
Is there opposition on the Cape to a Wampanoag casino?
The Center for Policy Analysis conducted a statewide poll in October and we found that the greatest opposition to a casino was among Cape residents, although that opposition was mainly to the possibility of a casino on the Cape.
Could a nearby casino attract more visitors from farther away and if so, could the Cape be packaged by the casino as part of the visitor experience to Southeastern Massachusetts?
In a word, yes.
Clyde Barrow, a frequent Cape Business contributor, is director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the UMass-Dartmouth.
Published in Cape Business July/August 2007.
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