What makes a ‘surrounding community’?

Google Maps, that’s what. The Massachusetts town of Bolton wants “surrounding community” consideration from Leominster, where Cordish Gaming hopes to built a $203 million slot parlor. As with many towns across the state, Bolton’s concerns center upon traffic. Cordish maintains that most punters will arrive via I-190. However …

The slot parlor would sit near a popular Walmart, which draws most of its patronage from Route 117, which traverses Bolton. And if you plan your trip to the casino site via Google Maps, the travel planning software defaults to Route 117, not I-190. Bolton wants more than the $5K in mitigation that Cordish is offering surrounding communities. But first it needs to be recognized by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as a surrounding community. If it gets the designation but can’t reach accord with Cordish, the two parties go to arbitration. Opening a casino in Massachusetts, as you can see, requires not a little bit of statesmanship.

Concurrently, in New Hampshire, the framework of a gaming-oversight body is emerging and it bears a strong resemblance to what Maryland and Kansas already have. The advisory New Hampshire Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority is taking an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it approach. It favors expanding the membership of the Lottery Commission and making both casino and charitable gambling answerable to the commission. The GROA isn’t taking any stance on how big a Granite State casino should be. However, state-retained White Sands Gaming has recommended that it be half the size of the 5,000-slot, 150-table casino that was proposed by Gov. Maggie Hassan (and defeated) last year.