New Poll Shows Casino Chaos in MA

Monday, June 30, 2014

Massachusetts' plans for casinos across the state are in chaos. Here is why:

The Commonwealth's Supreme Court has ruled that an effort to repeal the statute can go to the voters.

Now, a new poll from UMass Dartmouth unveils that the support for both the Mohegan Sun facility in Revere and the Wynn Casino in Everett has less 50% support.

The poll also showed that the public is split on whether to keep the casino statute - 41% would repeal the statute and 46% would keep it but the results fall in the margin of error +/-4.9%.

The poll demonstrates a strong preference for Mohegan Sun Massachusetts among both men and women in the region with women favoring Mohegan Sun by 50%-20% and men by 46%-22%.

Barrow on MA Casinos

Dr. Clyde W. Barrow, Director of the Center for Policy Analysis, said that even though the Massachusetts licensing process has been slow, the commission succeeded in encouraging and spurring competition regionally and statewide during the past three years.

“Casino developers came to Massachusetts because the commission was aggressive, vocal and determined to create a truly competitive process,” Barrow said. “The main goal of the Massachusetts Expanding Gaming Act was to spur economic growth statewide, and in each of the state’s major regions, and the commission recognized that only a truly competitive process would achieve those results.”

As the Massachusetts Gaming Commission moves closer to awarding greater Boston's Region A casino license, a poll of Region A voters demonstrates a strong preference for a Mohegan Sun Casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere over a Wynn Casino on land bordering the Mystic River in Everett. Mohegan Sun at Suffolk Downs in Revere and Wynn Resorts in Everett are the two applicants seeking the greater Boston (Region A) license.

The survey of 400 regional voters, conducted by the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth from June 19-22, found that 48% of the region’s voters favor a Mohegan Sun Massachusetts Casino, while only 21% favor a Wynn Resorts Casino. The remaining voters were either undecided (12%) or opposed to any casino (19%). The poll has a margin of error of +/- 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval.