53% in poll back Patrick casinos plan
But survey shows strong concerns over proposed locations
A majority of Massachusetts residents supports Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to license resort-style casinos across the state, according to a Boston Globe poll that indicated that legalized gambling has become an accepted part of the region's cultural landscape.
In a survey of 500 adults conducted last week, 53 percent favored Patrick's proposal, 34 percent opposed it, and 12 percent were neutral. Support cut across all ages, races, and geographic areas. Even churchgoers who said they worship weekly favor casinos.
"The support is very broad and cuts across almost all demographic groups - race, income levels, education levels," said Andrew E. Smith, director of The Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire, which conducted the poll. "There is no strong opposition to the plan."
But the poll suggested that residents have strong feelings about where casinos should be built. Forty-three percent said they should be located in rural areas, while 24 percent said they belong in cities.
As a result, where to open casinos - rather than whether to open them - is likely to generate the most controversy.
"If there is any [opposition], it will likely come in the siting of casinos," Smith said.
The poll raises the prospect of a "not in my backyard" backlash, one in which residents favor casinos but fear the traffic and crime problems associated with large-scale resort-casino developments. Fifty-four percent of those surveyed who live in metropolitan Boston said they think casinos should be located in rural areas, while 36 percent of those living in Western Massachusetts said they believe casinos should be in cities.
"I think if it's in your backyard, you're not going to want it," said Ron Hull of East Boston, a teacher. "I've read that crime does go up in areas with casinos, and there is the traffic I'm worried about, too."
Patrick initially proposed casinos in Southeastern Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, and metropolitan Boston. But the governor last week sent mixed messages on the siting - at one point saying he had "misgivings about a casino in any city" because of the amount of land required to build a full-scale resort, then later asserting that he never said he would oppose a casino in an urban area.
The poll also indicates that Patrick has plenty of political capital to spend in pushing his casino proposal with the Legislature and the public, should he choose.
His job approval rating was 52 percent in the latest poll, conducted from Sept. 22-26, a week after he announced his initiative. That is up from a 48 percent job approval rating in an April Globe poll.
Attorney General Martha Coakley has the highest net favorability rating among five leading Massachusetts politicians, 42 percent. Patrick's net favorability rating is 31 percent.
When he first aired his proposal, Patrick predicted casinos would create 20,000 jobs and generate $2 billion in economic activity. He also said $400 million in yearly gambling taxes could be used to rebuild roads and bridges and provide tax relief.
But the Massachusetts residents surveyed said they do not think the economic rationale is the strongest argument for casinos. Instead, their most popular reason is cultural acceptance: Sixty-one percent of those polled said they view gambling as a "viable and legal entertainment option, just like going to the movies."
And only a minority - 45 percent - said they believed gambling would bring negative social consequences; just 38 percent said they think crime would increase.
The poll's bottom-line conclusion, said Smith, is that casino gambling is not an issue most people feel strongly about. The margin of error in the poll was plus or minus 4.4 percent.
Follow-up interviews with poll participants indicated that many people have qualms about gambling but generally think the benefits outweigh the risks.
"I do have some problems with it," Alma Nolin, a retired nurse from Hyannis, said of Patrick's plan. "I worry that some people may go overboard and spend more than they should. But people don't want taxes to be raised and you can't blame them. How else are you going to help us put food on our table and pay for healthcare? Maybe this is the way to go."
Casinos "can bring additional forms of entertainment to a particular area,"' said David Mullins of North Chelmsford, another survey participant. "Mohegan Sun hosts a professional bowling tournament. We've gone because of the event, and I don't think we gambled more than $20.
"If there is entertainment I want to see, my wife and I will go. If they have a good restaurant, we'll go to that restaurant. If Emeril Lagasse opens a restaurant, we'll go to that. That's what casinos are about," Mullins said.
"People are tired of watching potential tax income go to the state of Connecticut and elsewhere when it could be kept here," he added.
While people from all backgrounds favor expanded gambling, there are some small demographic differences. More men than women, for example, support casinos, and slightly more Republicans than Democrats. In addition, support for casinos is higher among younger people, the poll indicates. Sixty-five percent of those ages 18 to 34 said they favor casinos, while only half of those 65 or older fall in that category.
Among the other poll findings:
Asked about their own gambling during the past 12 months, 56 percent said they had purchased a Massachusetts Lottery ticket, 29 percent said they have visited a casino, 9 percent said they had played a video gaming machine, 8 percent said they played bingo, 7 percent said they bet on horses, and 1 percent said they gambled over the Internet.
Residents didn't prefer Indian-owned casinos over other commercial ventures. Forty-five percent said they favor Indian-owned casinos; 30 percent opposed them.
There was no consensus on how many casinos should be licensed. Twenty-eight percent said three; 23 percent one; 9 percent two; 5 percent four or more.
Many of those polled, 40 percent, want politicians to take their time when deliberating Patrick's proposal; 24 percent said the proposal should be rejected immediately; and 33 percent said casinos should be legalized "as soon as possible." 