Casinos around the corner?
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Calculate. What are the odds the bill before the Legislature will give us a casino in Holyoke or in Palmer, or in - let it ride, my good man - both?
Yes, the casinos are coming, the slot parlors are blinging to life, and maybe, just maybe, they'll be coming here. No more burning a tank of gas to visit the faraway tribes of Connecticut. Soon these velvety palaces and their tantalizing vigorish will be close enough to touch.
So what are we talking here - a boon to the economy or a spike in crime? Kings in the shoe or a blind bet? The locals have as many opinions as numbers on a roulette wheel.
"I think you're going to create more problems, concentrating more revenue in a certain area," said landscaper Kraig Lynds, 29, of Leeds, who sometimes plays Texas Hold 'Em at Foxwoods. "And if they build it like other casinos it'll be too tall for a place like Holyoke - you might as well put it in Springfield."
But the father of two also hopes they put in an arcade like other places, so the kids can gamble, too.
"It'll improve on job security," said colleague Ben Warawka, referring to the plethora of positions that should blossom as a result. But walking the floor at a carpet joint? Not for these two guys. "No, we'll stick to landscaping," Warawka said.
Casinos are a welcome thing, he said, "as long as you don't go there with your whole paycheck."
But the lure, the lights, the promise of a big payout just minutes away - who can resist?
"I don't go," said Julie Edwards, 39, a cook from Florence, whose mother, aunt and sister often make the trip south. "I think of it as a large annoying place where dollars are lost - but if it keeps mom off the street ...
"There's a use for (the casino), I guess," Edwards said. "I don't know if there's an economic benefit or anything; I worry about the local restaurants. It's a suckhole for all the food, entertainment and everything."
"I have mixed feelings," said Easthampton artist Jessica Greene. "It might be great for the economy and jobs, but I'm concerned about how it affects the community, what all that traffic would look like. It could be done well, but will it be done well? It could be good for us, but if it's just about taxes and money counting ..."
'All-in'
Others interviewed this week were all-in with the whole idea.
"As soon as the casino comes in, the economy will improve," said writer Diane Mader, 59, of Florence. "But I do not want it in Holyoke. One of my least favorite places to go - I was mugged right after getting off the bus at Vets Park. I'd like to see it in Palmer or Leeds. Even though Holyoke does need a shot in the arm, Northampton needs money, too. We've had a lot of bad luck this year."
"I think it's a great idea," said Ernie Bosques, 55, of Florence, a recently retired Northampton High School custodian. "I go for the OTB (off-track betting). Won $1,200 last year at Mohegan Sun."
Bosques doesn't think the casino will bring more crime to the area because he hasn't seen any crime at any other casinos. "I never heard of anything going on," he said. "The roads will be better - that's what I see in Connecticut. There'll be more police awareness, more jobs - I might be looking for part-time work." In what department? "Maintenance!" he cried.
"I suppose it's a good thing," said Bob Slattery, 73, of Hatfield, who has driven the drums of the slots of Las Vegas. "It'll bring some employment, but people have to control their gambling habits. You go in with a plan: you take X amount of money - when that goes you're done."
Slattery and his wife, Ruthann, recently returned from four years living in Arizona, a roll of the dice that paid off. "The hospitals there were life-savers - excellent hospitals," said Slattery, who survived a brain aneurysm while his wife made it through a quadruple bypass.
"People are gonna gamble," said Brian Morrissey, 31, of Southwick. "They've got piles of scratch tickets right in there," he said, pointing at the convenience store that governs the gas he was pumping.
"I go to Connecticut once or twice a year, always have fun," he said. "It brings in a different element that people don't appreciate. I imagine it could lead to more crime. It's gonna be busy, that's for sure."
South Hadley Police Chief David LaBrie said a casino in Holyoke would have an immediate impact on his department. "You'd get some overflow, people coming through town," he said. "Workers would be brought in, more people living here, more businesses. You'd have an increase in traffic and with traffic comes accidents."
LaBrie could even envision more people being put on the force. "We're running at a bare minimum now," he said. "If our responses increase, it becomes a manpower issue."
Tapping out
Denise LeBeau, 39, a nurse from Easthampton, said she was a bit torn on the issue. "It's a hard thing," she said. "A lot of people have gambling issues. You'll create jobs but you'll also create problems with families and you won't have to drive very far to get there. It caused problems for my ex-boyfriend. He'd say he won but that money would be spent right back in.
"It's a two-sided issue," she said. "It might bring in revenue but it'll hurt smaller restaurants."
"We don't gamble, but if it brings money to the state, why not?" said musician Enid Liberato, who along with her husband serves up tunes at Easthampton's Church of God.
"It'll lead to a lot of robberies, people getting held up," said Robert Liberato. "It must have huge security. A guy was killed in Holyoke for casino winnings. If they put it up on Mount Tom, I could see that, but downtown Holyoke - that's a different story."
As for the cliched image of great-grandmothers yanking levers like a trucker with a horn, Nancy Scott, 79, a longtime volunteer at Easthampton's Senior Center, said she does not expect those of her generation to suddenly flock to a casino just because it's close. "The people that gamble are going to gamble," she said. "I don't think having a place nearby would make people go who wouldn't ordinarily go. Well, maybe just to have a look at it."
"I guess it would depend on how nice it was," said Norma Mackey, of Montague, who likes to go with her fiance to the Wolf's Den at Foxwoods, dinner and a show. "We just saw the lead singer from Styx, Dennis DeYoung."
Though Mackey has pulled her share of levers, gambling's seamier side saddens her. "You have people on oxygen, playing in wheelchairs, people leaving pretty down and out like they just lost the family farm," she said. As for pumping dollars into a local community, Mackey said, "I'm sure it does. The community (near Foxwoods) looked like it was doing better, but the last couple of trips down there I'm not so sure.
"It might do a lot for the state, but Mohegan Sun is not that far away," Mackey said. "If the area gets too many casinos within a 100-mile radius you'll end up with a glut. I don't think people have that much money to spend, anyway."
Sylvia Gallagher, 79, of Easthampton, puts miles on three different aerobic machines at the center. She goes to casinos but not necessarily to gamble. "I like the shows, but when I lose the money I brought I quit," she said. "I saw the Titanic exhibit at both Foxwoods and Mohegan."
Down to the felt
"There are pros and cons," Gallagher said. "It'll bring jobs but people who can't afford it will go out there and gamble their money away. I knew a person who lost her home through gambling. Sometimes I just watch the drama of people playing slots - thrills to heartbreak, very, very sad. But you can't tell people what to do."
She likes the idea of the economic boost that Holyoke might get should a casino come there, but has concerns.
"Let's put it this way - I'm not looking forward to it and the crime that might come with it," she said.
"A very bad idea," said Michael Pontbriant, 20, a freshman at Holyoke Community College, who believes that gamblers are taken in by the free drinks and get fleeced by a house that can't lose. "I've seen 'CSI: LasVegas' and the pit bosses - they might as well get away with murder. It'll be nice to keep our funds in our state, but I think gamblers are like migrating birds - they fly south for the winter and expect to fly back with gold."
To Martha Kessler, of Easthampton, having a joint nearby would spoil the whole experience. Getting there, she says, is half the fun. "I still would enjoy going on the bus to Connecticut - it's a getaway. I get someone to take care of my mother and get away for a night or two. Putting it nearby takes some of the excitement out of it," she said.
"I think it will bring in jobs for people with desperate needs," she said. "There are a lot of people out of work. My husband lost his job twice in four years. It'll be a big boost but not gigantic."
She says she's never felt in danger leaving the casinos. "The parking garages are always safe. I never encounter anyone I'd be afraid of."
Inside's another story, she said with a laugh. "You could get hurt by older people - don't ever take their machine," she warned.
But to some, gambling is nothing more than a destroyer of lives and has no place here at all. "We need jobs in the state, but it's gambling," said Barbara Speight, 46, of Easthampton. "It's an addiction. I'm pretty familiar with addiction. I can't promote something that puts people's lives in danger. It'll hurt more than help."
Speight has struggled with drugs and alcohol addiction for years. She is three months clean and sober, living at a home for women, after losing both her 20-year career with Verizon and her home in Longmeadow. "It's very hard to walk away (from addiction)," she said. "My life was ruined. I went from a homeowner with a good job to nothing."
She strongly believes that this time she'll make it. She has two sons, 22 and 18. "They've been through all this with me," she said. "I'd hate to see people go down as far as I've gone."
