Saturday, August 9, 2008

Track team?

Suffolk Downs is in negotiations to partner with, or buy outright, Wonderland Greyhound Park, according to stories in the Globe and Herald today. Wonderland apparently owes nearly $800,000 in back taxes, and "Revere officials recently began foreclosure proceedings against the track."

Speculation in the stories is that combining forces gives the tracks more leverage in their bid to bring casino gambling to the region. Wonderland, the thinking goes, may be able to keep dog racing if it has slot machines. However, there is also the November ballot question that would outlaw greyhound racing in the state to consider.

I'd like to see an end to dog racing. I also believe that it's a bad idea to bring casinos to this state and, more specifically, to East Boston. As we can see, Suffolk's principal owner Richard Fields is spending a good deal of money and expending a good deal of effort to put himself in a better position to get what he wants.

Update: It seems that Suffolk Downs and Wonderland have reached an agreement. In the statement released today (8/13), Wonderland principal owner Charles Sarkis says, "“All along during discussions with Suffolk Downs, we had one big goal in mind: protect the jobs of nearby residents..." Ha! That crock is the same line business owners always use. In reality it translates as, "I am going to get as much cash out of this deal as possible."

1 comment:

Jenafah said...

I have no problem with bringing gambling to MA, but I couldn't think of a worse location! There is so much traffic by Wonderland/Suffolk Downs as it is now. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if they added a casino.

I too, would love to see and end to greyhound racing in the state... any state for that matter.