Selling fast, selling short on gambling

OH, the blunder of it all.

Gambling proponents in Middleborough are pushing hard for a casino. They want a Massachusetts version of the wonder of it all at Foxwoods and the world at play at Mohegan Sun.

Their efforts feel rushed and wrong.

A town that twists itself into knots over a Dunkin' Donuts drive-through window is moving as fast as it can to endorse a megacasino. A Town Meeting is scheduled for Saturday. A vote that can forever change one town's character and future is taking place in the dead of summer, if not the dead of night.

Last February, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians were acknowledged as a federally recognized Indian tribe.The tribe took control of a 350-acre tract in Middleborough. In June, it partnered with two developers -- Len Wolman and Sol Kerzner -- who were forces behind Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. The developers pledged $1 billion to help the Massachusetts tribe build a casino.

This week, just five days before the town vote, Middleborough officials signed onto a proposed deal that would pay the town $11 million a year. The fine print in the deal also specifies that payment cannot exceed 2 percent of the casino's net revenues in any year. The tribe anticipates $172 million in needed road improvements around the casino. It will seek an unspecified amount from the state and federal government.

For years, expanded gambling has been pitched in Massachusetts but blocked by opponents. Now, it seems on the verge of happening.

"We're selling fast. We're selling short," said former attorney general Scott Harshbarger, a longtime gambling opponent. He predicts that if Middleborough votes to go with a casino, gambling will expand across Massachusetts: "It's like Lay's Potato Chips, you can't just have one."

If Middleborough approves this casino deal, it will still need approval from the US Department of the Interior and from the state.

But so far, state officials such as Gov. Deval Patrick and Attorney General Martha Coakley have said nothing to disturb the aura of inevitability about a new gambling era. Three days before the vote, state Treasurer Timothy Cahill did weigh in about Middleborough, saying the casino proposal is a bad deal for the town.

"The rush to judgment is quite irresponsible," said Harshbarger. "The silence at the leadership level, including the leadership of the business and civic community, is deafening. I am amazed that the leaders of Middleborough are going so cheaply. These guys [casino developers] are going to make a fortune."

Whether or not you want a casino in your backyard, you should want the best possible deal for your town. It this really it?

The agreement itself is 20 pages long. It includes another 25 pages of maps and charts. As a voter, are five days enough to understand exactly what it means for your future quality of life and property values?

Indeed, doesn't 20 pages seem rather sketchy on details, when you are authorizing a sovereign nation to set up a gambling empire in your hometown?

Remember, Massachusetts has no commission in place to regulate such an operation. The state will presumably establish one once it executes a compact with the tribe. But if you lived in Middleborough, wouldn't you want to know the details now?

The agreement ties the amount paid to Middleborough to the casino's "net revenue" -- gross revenue minus "prizes, complimentaries, player loyalty points, marker discounts or promotional allowances." Who audits the returns to make sure Middleborough is getting its due?

Who oversees the games and machines? Who does background checks on the investors? What are the penalties for violations? Who enforces them?

In this agreement, casino operators are agreeing to pay for two police cruisers, two ambulances, eight police officers, and 16 firefighter/EMTs. Is that really enough? Why are the casino operators allowed to shift infrastructure costs to the government?

And, what's the rush anyway?

Time is the last thing gambling proponents want for this target town. "They had to fast track it. The more you educate people about the outcome, the less likely it is to pass," said Robert Desrosiers, a Middleborough resident and past chairman of the Board of Selectmen who opposes the casino.

In a casino, the odds are never with the gamblers -- in this case, Middleborough officials. The odds are always with the House -- in this case, the tribe and their savvy development partners. That's a sure bet.

Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.