The state’s legalization of casino gambling is putting unprecedented demands and pressures on part-time local officials, calling into question whether volunteer citizen boards are equipped to handle casino proposals pushed by some of the richest companies in the world.
“I don’t think anybody on the board ever signed up for this,’’ said Sullivan, who has received about 2,000 calls and emails about the Route 1 casino proposal pitched by Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn for land next to Gillette Stadium. “There’s awesome, awesome pressure, by townspeople, developers, the media. It’s just constant.’’
Many of the casino companies interested in competing for development rights under the state’s expanded gambling law have gravitated toward small towns led by part-time, virtually unpaid elected officials where large tracts of open land are available.
The operators of the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut are proposing a resort in Palmer, population 11,500. MGM Resorts International last week announced development plans for Brimfield, population of about 3,500. The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which under the law has a head start toward winning the development rights for a casino in the southeastern part of the state, is said to be investigating sites in numerous small towns around the South Shore.
In Middleborough, Selectman Allin Frawley said he saw firsthand how difficult it is for small town boards to process a casino proposal. In 2007, the Wampanoag Tribe, backed by wealthy investors, agreed to build a casino in Middleborough, though later abandoned those plans.
“The whole process is slanted toward the billionaires,’’ Frawley said. “You’re asking five volunteers, in less than a year, to assess the impacts of a $500 million project. You’re dealing with laypeople who are trying to discuss these things with professionals. I have a better chance of beating Mike Tyson in a boxing match.
“It’s not fair to put this on five people in a small town,’’ he said.
