Five of my happiest years happened in Massachusetts, in the mid-1970s, as I pursued a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Babson College, in Wellesley. And four of my happiest summers were recent ones spent in the Berkshires, a world-class center for summer cultural entertainment.
My first day at Babson, I heard the famous toast of John Collins Bossidy: “Here’s to dear old Boston, home of the bean and the cod, where the Lowells speak only to Cabots, and the Cabots speak only to God.” More telling was when a classmate mentioned that her father, one of the most successful black businessmen in the state, was looked down on by members of her mother’s family. Their African American forbearers had lived in New England as free people for 200 years. His family descended from southern slaves, and had only migrated to Massachusetts in the 1940s.
Today the Bay State can still be very socially class structured, especially at the extremes – metropolitan Boston and the Berkshires (which are just west of West Springfield). By socially class structured I do not mean that Massachusetts is bigoted – it certainly is not. Snobbery is not quite the right word, either. In the 21st century, social class structure is based on traditions and shared values and interests, not just professional standing or financial assets. How one spends personal time is as important as how one earns money.
So what does all this mean for casinos coming, or wanting to come, to Massachusetts?
As the industry has learned over the last two years, especially last Tuesday night, there are considerable anti-casino forces in the state. Unlike some places, anti-gaming sentiment is not based on religion, nor is it conservative or liberal. And while the Massachusetts casino opposition will probably not prevent casinos from arriving (not having a casino vote in Boston is a major Wynn win), that opposition can make the experience, particularly after opening, less than optimal, especially if casino management discounts the situation.
Because of my college and recent summer experiences, I am blessed with many Facebook friends from Massachusetts. A few are strongly anti-gaming, but many more are concerned with how casinos will affect their state, and particularly the organizations they care about. Massachusetts has an abundance of colleges, including nine of the country’s top 100. It has a more-than-fair-share of important cultural institutions, including five nationally recognized theatres, a world-class dance festival, the country’s largest (by budget) professional orchestra, several renowned art museums, and the leading public television station in the United States (WGBH, producers of nationally telecast programs including Masterpiece Theater). These institutions and many more would not exist in a state with only 6,700,000 people (2% of the total US population) except for the outsized amount of time, talent and treasure the average Massachusetts resident donates. And these organizations (being entertainment related) feel especially threatened by casinos.
Whenever a casino first arrives at a new gaming destination upper managers (mostly non-residents, typically) work 60 to 80 hours a week getting the property up and running. That is unavoidable. My advice to upper management on its way to Massachusetts: use ten percent of those hours to become a member of the community. Find ways to work with local colleges, especially the many fine business schools in the state, including those of Bentley and Babson. Cultivate relationships with local arts institutions or other non-profit charitable organizations, especially lesser known groups that could really use your time, talent (and if available) treasure. In short, make your casino into an asset for the local non-profit community. (Granted, I would give this advice to any management team of a new casino, but it goes triple in Massachusetts.)
Will you ever see the Cabots on your players club list? Probably not, but you will hopefully see the Lowells (and the many more Massachusetts residents who enjoy casinos). And if the Lowells consider the casino team to be valued members of the community, as opposed to carpetbaggers who only recently came to the state for the money, they will considerably less reluctant mentioning their casino trips when they do speak to the Cabots.
