Casino Plan: First Reaction

I will start this entry by admitting I have very scant knowledge of Gov. Patrick's casino plan. But here's my first reaction:

As House Speaker diMasi joked at the St. Patty's Day breakfast, "The House always wins." Hopefully, the State House, and not any would-be casino owners will win in this case. Because when "The House" is a small number of people, and the losers are a large number (presumably a large percentage of whom are Bay Staters), the net cost to the Commonwealth will be greater than the gain in tax revenues.

How much will the social losses from gambling and gambling-related problems affect the Commonwealth's social services? Its banks? Its families?

My first instinct to all this is just to say that I don't want it here.