Why do we care if a casino in Everett expands? Because if it can happen there, it can happen here if we allow a horse race track in Hardwick. The following excerpt is from boston.com.
"Wynn had initially insisted that there would be no gambling on that side of Broadway, during its early planning for the block.
The company first proposed an 1,800-seat events venue there. Rival theater operators were worried about the competition, and pointed to a provision in the state’s gaming law that bans event venues with 1,000 to 3,500 seats from being built on casino properties. Wynn eventually scaled back the size of the theater to 980 seats, even though the company at the time had argued the land across the street shouldn’t be considered part of the casino.
Now, Wynn finds itself arguing to the commission that the new building should be regulated as part of the casino after all. Representatives for Wynn and for the City of Everett said the possibility of an expansion of gambling is in keeping with the intent of the voters’ approval of the casino in a 2013 referendum.
Commission members started to discuss last month whether the voters’ overwhelming support for a casino at the former Monsanto site, where the casino was built, should count as an endorsement for gambling across the street. No resolution was reached, so the discussion will likely spill into the new year. Wynn needs a positive vote from the commission to host any gambling, including the sports book and the poker room, across the street.
Theater operators, meanwhile, are staying vigilant amid this expansion. Bill Blumenreich, owner of the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, said he remains concerned even though Wynn reduced the theater size to just under the legal threshold.
“They’re blatantly trying to hurt other theaters,” Blumenreich said of Wynn. “It’s all about their bottom line.”
Hardwick residents: we can not be fooled into thinking this will be a pretty little breeding and retirement facility for horses. This is a facade for their true intentions: gaining the millions and millions of dollars from the state's horse racing fund, and the sports betting license. Without the license they want absolutely nothing to do with the care of the animals, or preserving the land, or running a farm. They say so in their own proposals. They ONLY have interest in Hardwick because they think we are stupid. They are so sure of this that they are willing to "bet" on it. We are anything but stupid, and we need to show them that they can not walk all over us. This is high stakes for our town.
Vote NO January 7th!
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