Representative Daniel Bosley insisted that gambling ends up impacting low income earners and would also take away from the state's lottery revenue which provides $900 million annually and is distributed to local towns. Bosley warned that one casino will be followed by many others. The Wamponaug Indian Tribe is currently trying to operate the state's first casino but there are seven other tribes that have applied, he said.

Gary Loveman, chairman, CFO and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment Inc., a company that is eyeing Massachusetts for a casino site, dismissed Bosley's arguments and insisted that casinos can lower crime rates. He also disputed the notion that casinos attract lower income earners by citing studies that prove higher wage earners are a large percentage of casino goers.

Perhaps, most significantly for these times, Loveman contended that the casino industry is what he called an "economic engine." He noted that the 430 commercial casinos that currently exist in 11 states provide over $3.6 billion in tax revenue.

Loveman added that the state has a number of excellent sites for casinos. The real estate requirements for a casino development are a minimum of between 20 and 30 acres.

But as Bosley pointed out it remains unclear which way the state will vote on the issue. A vote has occurred twice over the past five years and both times casino gambling was rejected.

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Seminar Debates Merits of Casino Gambling in State

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