Boston Pop Culture 101: the latest on Massachusetts casinos

July 21, 9:34 PMBoston Pop Culture ExaminerKristin Chamberlain

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 (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Is Massachusetts ready for a casino, or perhaps several casinos? Proposals are in for gaming establishments in both Middleboro and New Bedford, and residents all over the state have been weighing-in on the plans for more than 2 years now. Some residents welcome the idea of a casino, in that it would create new jobs, and would bring a lot of revenue to the state and to the local communities. Some also ask “why gamble in Rhode Island and Connecticut when we could be spending the money here?”

Others still aren’t too thrilled about the idea altogether.

Opponents to opening casinos in Massachusetts argue that no studies have proven that casinos bring any real extra revenue to the states in which they reside. Some contend that having a casino close-by would create gambling problems for people, or may worsen existing issues with gaming. The Town of Middleboro, however, voted to allow the casino.

Recently, the Wampanoags have released information regarding the scaling down of their original plans for the Middleboro casino. Boston Globe correspondent Christine Legere recently explained that “the economic downturn and the recent Supreme Court decision affecting the ability of Native American tribes to place land into federal trust have not killed plans for a casino resort in Middleborough, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe officials say. But the casino will most probably be smaller and the process to get the targeted site placed into federal trust longer than initially anticipated.”

For the latest developments on casinos coming to Massachusetts, please visit http://www.boston.com/news/specials/casino/.