During a recent conversation with Senator Pacheco, the Senator indicated that "saving" the race tracks with slot machines was important because it represented 1,440 FAMILIES (whatever that carefully worded analysis means).
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The Casino Job Mythos was written last year, prior to the statewide referendum that banned Greyhound Racing.
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The Globe picked a number out of the air that contradicted the state's own figures of 707 employees at ALL tracks, cars included.
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Even Governor Carcieri of Rhode Island pooh poohs the figures that are presented.
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From Hollywood Slots, our counterparts in Maine:
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The most significant justification
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to voters for allowing a gambling
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casino in Maine was that it would
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revive a dying industry: harness racing.
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Same argument. Same justification.
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And from Indiana, same words, different day:
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Track officials said revenue from the slots
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was needed to keep their tracks and the
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horse racing in Indiana viable, and they
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agreed to pay $250 million each over two
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years to get the slots, as well as spend at
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least $100 million each to build the new casinos.
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One estimate in that study suggests that
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every slot machine removes one job
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permanently from the local economy.
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Why? Because when you think about it, it is a reverse ATM. It spins some lights and sucks money out of your bank account and out of the local economy, transferring to a wealthy corporation. ).
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