Setting the Record Straight

My name is Jeff Morris, and I’m the Director of Public Affairs for Penn National Gaming.  When my colleagues and I introduced our company to the Town of Tewksbury 26 days ago, we made a promise: to go above and beyond to provide residents with facts on our company, the gaming industry, and our proposed slots facility at 300 Ames Pond Drive.  We pledged to be completely transparent in our efforts – opening an office on Main Street, providing our direct phone numbers and email addresses on our website, and offering to meet with residents at their convenience to directly address all questions and concerns.  We have kept this promise: in addition to the countless discussions our team has had in our office at 1120 Main Street and at the doorsteps of homes across town, I have personally met with hundreds of residents, answered every phone call and email, and visited people in their homes – from South Tewksbury to the shore of Ames Pond.  

As with any project of this magnitude, there are supporters and opponents.  That is a great thing  - an honest dialogue between residents is imperative because, ultimately, it is your choice whether to accept Penn National as a partner for Tewksbury. We can’t force anyone to accept us; we can simply provide facts so that each an every resident can make an informed decision.
 
Unfortunately, some opponents are not interested in playing by the same rules.
 
Recently, non-resident contributors have taken to posting anti-casino propaganda that is factually inaccurate. Their commentary is designed to soak Tewksbury readers with an array of long-defunct theories and misleading information – simply put, to scare you.  
 
Many opponents have cited the National Gambling Impact Study Commission http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/fullrpt.html) as a source of information about increased crime, decreased property values, and so on.  Ironically, I can site the same report about decreased crime and increased property values in gaming communities:

·       Chapter 7, page 5: The National Research Council notes that “the benefits borne out in reports, for example, of increased employment and income, increased tax revenues, enhanced tourism and recreational opportunities, and rising property values”.

·       Chapter 7, page 14: Jeremy Margolis, former Director of the Illinois State Police, Illinois Inspector General, and Assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, published a comprehensive review on gambling and crime based upon 10 jurisdictions that have commercial casinos.  He stated he found little documentation of a causal relationship between the two.  Taken as a whole, the literature shows that communities with casinos are just as safe as communities that do not have casinos.

Or we can cite another study in support of our position posted by opponents from the National Institute of Justice (https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=187679):  

·       “The expectation that crime rates would rise as a result of the advent of gambling in the communities under study was not born out.”

The list goes on and on.  Proponents and opponents of an issue always use studies in an attempt to state their case.  Researchers in places like Washington, DC and New York sit in their ivory towers and make broad assumptions, and are even sometimes paid to come to a certain conclusion.  Real information comes from Main Street – so let’s look at some facts from the people who actually live in gaming communities, specifically those where Penn National operates, since we are the ones requesting your support. 

 
Bangor, Maine
1,954 crimes occurred the year before a Penn National casino opened in 2008. In 2011, only 1,742 crimes were reported across the city. That’s a drop of over 10%.
 
Toledo, Ohio
12, 855 crimes occurred in 2011. One year after the casino opened in 2012, only 10,497 crimes were reported. That’s a drop of over 18%.
 
Better yet, what do the people on the front lines in our host communities have to say?
 
““It’s [the Penn National casino] been a very positive addition to our community.” -- Bangor City Council Chairman Nelson Durgin.  (Bangor Daily News, 10/13/13)
 
“It’s kind of worked the opposite of how bad people said it was going to be … for our towns  … when Charles Town Track sold to Penn National, we had nothing going on here with no jobs. Land wasn’t worth much and crime was bad at that time. … [The casino] decreased our workload, land’s at more of a premium, and it’s added a lot of money to the County Commission.  We had much more crime due to the track back then than we do now.”  Robert Shirley, Jefferson County Sheriff, WV (Bangor Daily News, 10/21/11)
 
You can find over a dozen similar comments from our host communities on our website - http://www.yesfortewksbury.com/testimonials.  We’re not asking you to take our word for it – this is information directly from community leaders across the country that have experienced Penn National’s presence in their respective town.  Better yet, pick up the phone and call the Town Manager, Mayor, Police Chief, Chamber President, or any one in our 28 host communities.  They will confirm the facts as we have presented to you since the day we proposed this facility. 

We wonder what's prompting these non-residents' sudden interest in Tewksbury. And we’re curious as to why they have flooded the Patch with a torrent of misleading, cherry-picked, and often-irrelevant information meant to trick local readers despite overwhelming proof of the contrary.  
 
Meanwhile, we are committed to providing Tewksbury with the facts, and will keep this promise that we made on day one. We ask you – the residents of Tewksbury – to learn about the issue and discuss it with proponents and opponents based on facts, not distortions from those whose interest in the issue may not be so transparent.  It is your decision to make.