Deval Patrick Fudged Casino Impact Numbers

A state commissioned study on the economic impact of three casinos in the state revealed that the Governor Deval Patrick greatly exaggerated his numbers on the revenue generated by the Casinos when he was promoting his failed gambling proposal earlier this year.

The 301 page report, prepared by the New Jersey based Spectrum Gaming, noted that one of the biggest losers in the Casino gambit would be the State lottery commission, which is one of the largest sources of revenue for many local municipalities. The lottery brings in consistently over 4.5 billion in revenue each year, with over $1 billion of that going back directly to towns for school systems, public health budget and other local aid.

According to the study, Deval Patrick’s number on the number of construction jobs created was inflated by over 300%. Likewise, his projection for the revenue that the Casinos would bring in was overestimated by about 25%.

Deval Patrick also claimed that the Casinos would provide some 20,000 permanent jobs. The study put that estimate at 13,000.

The study itself cost $189,000. It did not, however, put a price tag on the cost that local communities would be expected to bear. In a public letter, Diane Jeffery, president of the League of Women Voters in Massachusetts, said gambling shouldn't be substitute for reasonable tax policy, and that its costs outweigh its revenues. "For every $1 raised in revenue, it costs the community $3," she wrote.

Deval Patrick’s gambling proposal failed this year. Now, the new independently verified numbers, it is going to be that much more difficult for him to resurrect his proposal in 2009.