Race Tracks: Liars to the End

I just had a SHNS Capitol Brief snippet forwarded to me from the afternoon of Wednesday the 23rd. One of the stories in the brief was about Speaker DeLeo, cheer leading slots at the race tracks again, statements which have long-since past Albert Einstein's definition of insanity. The other one was about how the greyhound race tracks had seen their last day of greyhound racing (amen!). Needless to say, when the track spokesperson was quoted, I nearly died laughing.

Raynham Park spokeswoman Amy Lambiaso said 25 of the track’s 600 full-time and part-time workers had been laid off to date. Once live racing ends, another 50 to 60 will be laid off and 40 to 50 workers whose jobs are tied to dog handling will be let go. Lambiaso said all of those workers have already been notified of their layoffs and that they will be the first contacted for jobs should slot machines be authorized.

Freaking liars to the end. As has been well documented on this site, Raynham Park employs a fraction of their boasts - boasts which seemed to change daily back during the ballot campaign. George Carney famously gave two very different numbers when interviewed by two different journalists in articles published within a day of each other back during the campaign, only three months after he laughibly claimed the two tracks employed literally 6,000-8,000 people. For the record, Raynham Park, in 2002, employed only between 100-249 people, according to the US Census. It is surely many fewer people now, given how badly the industry did between 2002 and today.

From the industry that literally prevented their workers from receiving state-paid retraining, so they could continue to cry foul about their workers, using them as PR devices, I guess this is right about what you'd expect. If only George Carney and his lackeys would let sleeping dogs lie, but the truth is he'll do almost anything to keep his track open in hopes of one day getting slots. It should surprise no one that dishonest, corrupt people would seek to open a dishonest and corrupt business.

The Nerve of These People

First, let's read one of SHNS's recent tweets.

Despite law ending dog racing, Raynham-Taunton files for full racing schedule next year. statehousenews.com

Then read a quote from an earlier SHNS story today (can't link to it, sorry).

MOHEGAN EYES REDUCED LICENSING FEES, TWO-YEAR WINDOW UNTIL OPENING

By Jim O’Sullivan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON, SEPT. 30, 2009……The state should charge casino licensing fees between $25 million and $50 million and level tax rates in the low 20-percent range on gambling revenues, according to a top executive at the Mohegan Sun casino firm, one of several business interests circling as the Legislature considers gambling legislation.

Seriously, what are these people thinking.

The dog tracks don't think the rules apply to them, while the big resort casinos think that we should all bow before them for the privilege of having their ugly-ass buildings create all sorts of new, local problems "grow" jobs.

Remember when Governor Patrick was promising hundreds of millions in gambling licensing fees? What a freaking joke. Why does our state continue to waste time on this gimmick that won't solve a single, solitary problem -- while creating a whole bunch of new ones?

PS: I appreciate the fact that the SHNS is finally disclosing its casino conflict of interest. From the story above:

Editor's Note: O'Neill & Associates advertises in the News Service's Weekly Roundup.

For those who don't know, O'Neill & Associates gets a lot of money from the casino lobby. Honestly, I don't think it's a coincidence that the SHNS covers the casino issue so closely and is frequently at the forefront of pushing the "inevitability" meme.

Attn Wonderland and Raynham Park

I'm just wondering if you've finally decided to allow your workers to receive state help in retraining -- or if you're going to continue to toy with their lives in your attempt to control the public debate by using their very plight to attempt to further your last-gasp attempts at profiteering?

Thanks,

Ryan

Track Workers Refusing Retraining?

Now, obviously this is all part of a PR campaign, but let's forget that sort of context when we read the following quote from this article (read it!).

Amid hopes that slot machines or a delay in the racing ban could save their jobs, some track workers and state officials say that few of them have begun to look for a new job or seek training.

The article is a woe-is-me piece on a track worker who will eventually lose his track job. Now, I'm pretty far to the left if you were to place me on an ideological line, but not even I think government can help people who don't want to be helped. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink - after all.

But let's get back to the real world - and context. My suspicion is that this was a carefully selected case amongst the track workers - their Joe the Plumber - and whoever sent out the press release wants to make it appear as though these people need slot jobs. But they don't. George Carney, owner of the Raynham Track and Supreme Councilor of Pushing Slots Into Massachusetts, just wants to make voters think that.

The fact of the matter is this state is providing funds for slot worker retraining, more than most people who lose jobs will get. Help is available from other sources, as well. If the tracks are telling them not to seek that help or accept it, because it'll risk slots, then shame on them. But we can't allow slots in this state because people who work at the race tracks are refusing to accept free or inexpensive retraining.

Basically, this sort of thinking

“There’s always a possibility that even if the live racing goes away, slots could come in, and I might have a job,” said Pizzutti, a racing official at the track, who has not begun a job hunt.

is asinine, stupid and unacceptable. If this weren't a PR hack - probably a friend or relative of one of the track's owners - and he held this view, who would find that acceptable? It's not much better than people who go to gamble thinking they could win a million dollars, thus spending thousands of their own to do so, thousands they don't really have to spend. This is not thinking we should reward.

The people at the tracks need to understand - resoundingly so - that they should accept retraining, because slots have long been a pipe dream in this state and will probably continue to be so. Yet, George Carney is refusing any state help at the tracks for his employees.

Here's the bottom line:

Ken Messina is the Massachusetts manager of Rapid Response, a federally-funded program in every state, which responds to companies and employees facing closings and layoffs.

Messina said his team offered three months ago to set up shop at the dog track, hoping to educate employees about unemployment, health insurance and resume assistance.

“We were ready to go, and when we started talking to the representatives of the dog track, it was evident they were trying to see if there were any alternative things to keep the track open,” Messina said.

Track owner George Carney could not be reached for comment.

George Carney is trying to hold this entire state hostage, refusing to allow necessary retraining efforts for his employees, based on a scheme and a gamble that he can use the self-selected plight of his workers to gain enough sympathy to legalize slots. But his employees don't have to suffer - the state is plenty willing to help. George Carney is just choosing to make his employees suffer, thinking it may help him make additional millions.

This is George Carney's fault; he should be held accountable for his actions - which means no slots and no state bail out of track racing. No one should have any sympathy for George Carney or his ilk. They're manipulators who don't give a crap about their employees or the people they put in the poor house - which is about to become one in the same, because he's refusing the state's help in retraining his employees. If the state makes any move to help track workers, it shouldn't be slots - it should be a law mandating all greyhound race tracks accept state help in retraining their workers. Period.

Race Tracks, Lies and Broken Regulations

Come November 4th, it's no big secret that one of the most important questions facing voters will be Question 3 - the ballot question that could phase out Greyhound Racing by 2010. The efforts of the Committee to Protect Dogs is already well under way. What's been puzzling, though, is the fact that the Greyhound Tracks have remained relatively quiet. Oh, sure, they've spun some interesting tales to reporters, but it's not really working. So what, exactly, do they have under their sleeves?

The Committee to Protect Dogs and Jobs. You've heard it here first. A Washington, D.C. lobbyist named Read Martin ordered the domain name ProtectDogsandJobs.org, a site that's currently under construction. Most voters wouldn't be aware of this, but Read Martin is a business associate of Glenn Totten, of Totten Communications, hired by Raynham Park as a politician consultant to defeat the 2000 attempt to ban Greyhound Racing, which was the closest ballot question fight in Massachusetts state history.

So what's the big deal here? Two things - first, it's clear that because the Race Tracks in Massachusetts know they can't win the battle of ideas, they're going to try to confuse the voters. Already posted to Youtube are videos of cute little dogs and their adoptive parents - with one add titled Adopt a Massachusetts Greyhound, Vote No on 3. They're trying to send the message that if you really want to help Greyhounds, you should vote no on 3. Of course, they're skipping the maiming and the sufferring parts.

Even more important than trying to create a campaign solely meant on confusing voters is the fact that it appears as if state law is being violated. Why? The Committee to Protect Dogs and Jobs has not been filed with the State OCPF, the organization that oversees campaign finance law for state elections. As a ballot question campaign, they are required to file with the state before they start raising any money - and certainly before they spend any of it.

From the OCPF website itself:

Political Committees and Other Organizations

A political committee is a committee that raises money for a specific political purpose, such as:

The election of a single candidate (candidate's committee);
The election or defeat of one or more candidates (political action or people's committee);
The promotion of a particular party (state and local party committees); or
The passage or defeat of a ballot question (ballot question committee).

Before it can raise funds for its specified purpose, a committee must be properly organized with OCPF or, if applicable, a local election official.

Emphasis mine.

Of course, as with anything this cynical and irregular, the bludgeon they keep hitting themselves with doesn't stop. Among those sweet, kind-hearted videos on the Youtube site are a few claims that are flat out wrong. In fact, the very title of the ad - "Adopt a Greyhound, Vote No on 3" - is misleading, at best. Adopting Greyhounds and voting no on 3 have nothing to do with each other.

But it only gets worse from there. The first text to pop up on the featured ad is, in fact, false. The ad claims that the Greyhound adoption rate in Massachusetts is 100% - all Massachusetts Greyhounds are placed in a loving, caring home. Not exactly. According to the Massachusetts State Racing Commission, only 14% of track dogs end up being adopted in Massachusetts. For the math-challenged among us, that means the lobbyists are off by a whopping 86% - 65% of the dogs in Massachusetts are just sent to a new track, out of state and out of mind, where we can't keep track of them. Perhaps those are states that don't have such strict regulations as Massachusetts in terms of reporting what actually happens to Greyhounds at Wonderland and Raynham.

The second number that pops up in the same ad is a claim that can only be described as misleading. The ad claims that the state's race tracks have "contributed" $1.34 million to Greyhound Adoption agencies from 2000-2007. In fact, that's false. In 2001, a law drafted by Grey2K was carried by State Representative Pat Jehlin, establishing the Retired Greyhound Care and Adoption Council. Under this law, a portion of the taxes that the state was already collecting from gamblers spending money at Raynham and Wonderland was redirected to this council: that was the funding mechanism. So, in essence, it's the people who gamble at these tracks who have "contributed" these funds, not the tracks themselves.

Moreover, if the money weren't redirected to this Council, it would have been sent directly to the state's coffers. So let's not confuse this money with a generous donation that's being handed down from the industry to the adoption agencies in anyway, whatsoever. While it's good that the state has directed some funding to adoptive services, it's a small band aid on a gaping wound. The very reason for the fund's very existence would evaporate if we began to phase out Greyhound Racing in Massachusetts.

So let's try to get this all straight: the dog tracks are currently in the process of setting up their campaign to defeat Question 3. Their chief tactic appears to be confusing the voters, making them think that voting no on 3 will help Greyhounds. Furthermore, their campaign is currently violating OCPF campaign finance regulations in Massachusetts. I guess this all this shadowy mess is par for the course with the dog track industry - it's not as if they haven't tried to mislead and lie to the voters before.

Crossposted at BlueMassGroup.

7 Greyhounds Break Legs in 6 Days

From a press release I received today:

Raynham, MA – According to state records obtained by the Committee to Protect Dogs, seven greyhounds suffered broken legs at Massachusetts racetracks during a six-day span in June. The records indicate that three of the dogs will require a full year to recover from their devastating injuries while another greyhound will need six months to heal.

“Every month, we receive new reports of dogs suffering broken legs and other serious injuries while racing at tracks in our state,” said MSPCA-Angell President Carter Luke. “In some cases the dogs limp away facing a year of recovery and rehabilitation while other greyhounds leave their lives on the track. It is time for Massachusetts’ citizens to end this cruelty and vote yes on Question 3.”

Greyhound racing... a little harmless fun, right? Wrong. There were actually 8 Greyhounds that were seriously injured in June. That's in addition to the 9 last month. There's an epidemic here - one that voters can cure by voting Yes on Question Three in November.

Update:

Oops - I was wrong. Eight dogs weren't seriously injured in June - there were 11. It was even worse than I thought. In fact, 8 dogs were injured in June at Wonderland alone!

The Casino Job Mythos

One of the biggest reasons some people claim to support casinos is for the jobs. It's one of the age-old arguments - that casinos create jobs time infinity, all of which provide decent benefits. Of course, it's another age-old phenomenon that the pro-casino lobby usually lies, distorts and cheats it's way to their much ballyhooed numbers. Anyone remember those 25,000 construction jobs? Yeah, right.

Well, as the casino debate in Massachusetts shifts to Racinos this summer, it's important for everyone, including Beacon Hill, to note that the Racino Lobby is as gifted with their math as the Casino Lobby - 25,000 construction jobs being only the most laughable example. Need a refresher? Let's take a look at what George Carney, owner of the Raynham tracks, has said in the past:

Falsehood #1

"I'm sticking with 650 [jobs]."

George Carney continuously claims to employ 650 people at the Raynham Racetrack. Of course, according to the Census, the actual number is less than 250 - including part timers. Specifically, between 100 and 249. Oops.

How gross is that lie? Well, if you combine all the race tracks in this state - dog, horse, car, whatever - there's 707 employees, according to the Massachusetts Department of Labor. So, George Carney claims to employ almost as many racing-related jobs as the entire industry of Massachusetts. George, we know you're big, but not that big!

What tangled webs we weave. Let's pretend George is right - he has 650 employees. George also released documents that give definitive labor costs for the Raynham Track. Here's George's labor costs over a 9 month period in '06:

Taunton Dog Track, Inc. – “casual labor” $8,800
Taunton Dog Track, Inc. – “salaries and wages” $544,500
Massasoit Greyhound Association – “contract labor expense” $1,980,092
Massasoit Greyhound Association – “salaries and wages” $2,622,384
Total: $5,155,776

So, if George's claims are right and he truly employs 650 people, there's some very simple math to do. 650/5,155,776 = $7,931. Either George is paying his 650 minimum wage or less (and he claims his jobs are good jobs), or he's completely full of himself. Even George knows his math is as fuzzy as a pair of over-used tennis balls.

Now, if George really employs ~200 people, that number is a more reasonable $25,779. Sound about right?

Falsehood #2

"If the ban on dog racing wins approval... it could eliminate 6,000 to 8,000 jobs at the two tracks."

Right off the bat, we've deduced that Carney employs between 100 and 249 employees at Raynham. Let's be generous and round up to 250. If that's the case, the other park in question, Wonderland Racetrack, would have to employ between 5,750 to 7,750 jobs. Of course, according to Census numbers, that's laughable. Note to George: they couldn't fit that many cars in the Wonderland Parking Lot.

In 2002, Wonderland employed between 250 and 499 full time and part time employees. Of course, there's probably even less now, given recent trends at Race Tracks in Massachusetts and across the country. In fact, Wonderland even threatened that if it doesn't get its way with Racinos, it'll shut up shop and close for good. Good riddance. With hundreds of millions being invested just across the street on the beach, as well as a T station even closer, there's limitless possibilities for those acres to be used, which could bring more and better jobs for the area - industries that aren't so prone to lie, distort and cheat about their numbers.