David Nunes - The Casino Man!

The first casualty of addiction, like that of war, is the truth. One traveling salesman, among many, tells the tale of what we can expect over the coming weeks as special interests try to push bad gaming legislation through the Massachusetts State House.

At first it seemed that David Nunes, the self-styled multi-millionaire operating from a post office box in Aspen Co., was simply another carpet bagging developer who came strolling through the state some 12 years ago with his Harold Hill “Music Man” scam of promises to make millions of dollars for any and all who bought his shtick. Of course to anyone wary of swampland real estate salesmen it was clear he wasn’t selling facts. His blustering zeal with which he made his claims suggest he was even lying to himself.

That was then, this is now.

Today’s read in the Boston Globe confirms what many in the Commonwealth have long suspected: David H. Nunes a full-blown addict in search of casino gold incapable of telling the truth not only to himself, but most important to the taxpayers of Massachusetts.

“If this is a straight-up competition about which location will produce the highest returns for the Commonwealth, there is no doubt in my mind that our site will deliver’’.

Well David Nunes’ mind is a fantastical place to which he should sell time shares to other Don Quixote windmill tippers. Follow him at your own risk. Nunes is emblematic of the special interests seeking to manipulate the legislative process for personal gains that do nothing for the Commonwealth’s financial interests, job growth or local community support. They’ll say anything to excite their audience – in this case our state legislature – into a frenzy to act without full deliberation or thought.

This is Nunes today floating his “boon for the economy” trial balloon responding to the smoke filled backroom agreement the legislature reached with no public input yesterday on a proposal to bring casino gambling to the state.

If Massachusetts got a dime for every time David Nunes, Cedric Cromwell or the other casino king wannabees, who bent the truth for their own selfish purposes, nobody would be talking about casinos or gambling. Nunes’ gaffes alone would balance the budget. Nunes may not have the billions (or millions) to back up his bluster like the Asian gaming syndicate hiding behind the Wampanoag, but he certainly sells a good story.

The fact is there is nothing straight up about any of the competition Nunes or the Mashpee Wampanoag and Genting cabal wants, because they want no competition at all.

As has been reported here, Nunes claims he is prepared to spend millions to game the system with non–competitive bids and special preferences. The slot industry and Indian gaming groups already have spent their millions – which have paid off in round one with the Governor and Therese Murray’s special-interest laden bill being pushed down the throats of our elected representatives as a done deal.

And if that doesn’t work, well we can count on Nunes to keep threatening to delay, derail and otherwise obfuscate this process until somebody (probably Genting) pays him to go away. Who can forget his brazen threats from earlier this month about launching his statewide initiative? About 50 cards short of a full deck, it’s a one of a kind, openly rigged process that bars competition and ensures he cleans up on his way out of town. “If I’m going to spend the money for the initiative, I’m not going to do it so somebody else can win.”

Spoken like a true addict who has never met the truth. The lobbyists got money in the Governor’s bill to help protect racehorses, perhaps they should put in a few bucks for addiction recovery services as well.

But it gets worse.

Do a little digging and you’ll find more proof of a deluded addict who will do anything to earn a buck?

An acquaintance claims Nunes’ business skills consist of talking his way into high-powered firms only to be fired a short time later. Easy money.

Then there is there is the old “bait and switch” approach – or more appropriately in Nunes’ case “bait and tackle”.

Among the many companies Nunes owns there is Ajax Gaming Ventures. It sounds an awful lot like the Trump owned business of the same name, with one key difference:

David Nunes’ Ajax Ventures shares its street address with a bait and tackle store….and/or it used too. Ajax Ventures. A powerhouse -- run out of a Post Office Box? Kinda like Cedric Cromwell’s “powerhouse” and “crush the competition” position of being in default on his home mortgage before his cash savior Genting bailed him out.

So who can believe David Nunes when he talks about what’s good for the Commonwealth. Cedric Cromwell claiming his 12,000 year ancestral right to open a casino? How is it our state legislature is being held hostage to the self-interests’ of snake oil salesmen like these? Well, to steal a phrase from H.L. Mencken, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of Massachusetts politicians.”

Casino interests trying to pit MA v. NY and frenzy legislators to act on gambling legislation

Localities like Palmer are rushing to hold meetings with prospective casino operators while lobbyists are pushing through local zoning changes in places like New Bedford that will smooth their way to promised treasure troves of gambling wealth.  As the Auburn Citizen reports, “Casino operators last week began pitting both states against each other, saying one cannot afford to let the other go forward with legalized gambling…”  But nobody is stopping to think or evaluate the absurdities and realities associated with these plans.

In New York, Aqueduct operator Genting is lobbying for fast action by the legislature and opposing Indian gaming which it claims would create unfair competition.  At the same time Genting is the money behind Wampanoag plans for a tribal preference and carve out in Massachusetts that is trying to push through legislation requiring non-competitive Indian gaming.  In Massachusetts the Genting-backed tribe is threatening to move forward without the state and “crush the completion” by not paying any taxes, fees or tributes if legislators don’t favor their plans.  The Wampanoag's tactics under new lobbyist Bill Delahunt must be making their former hired gun Jack Abramoff spin in his cell.  In either case this Malaysian gaming syndicate known as Genting wins big and the local communities, states, Indian tribes and federal government will surely lose.

Gaming interests like Genting, David Nunes and their lobbyists are trying to drive local elected officials into a panicked frenzy to see who can beat out his neighbor chasing promises of gambling cash.  They are hoping in this panic that elected officials, plump with campaign contributions from casino lobbyists, will push forward special interest legislation, with carve outs and set-asides that have no real benefits for anyone but these out-of-state, overseas and out-of-reach operators.

Local elected officials are claiming they need to “act fast” and are rushing to the tables to secure deals with the Mohegan tribe in Palmer or the Wampanoag band in Fall River.  What these local officials, indeed the State, do not understand is that any money an Indian tribe agrees to “share” in the end will only be a gift and not a contractually binding guarantee.  In fact, as recently announced in the Duluth v. Fond du Lac Indian case, if such dollars are tied to “revenue” or any percentages associated with the casino business, a Department of Interior decision will make such agreements unenforceable.  Similarly, the State of California is finding deals they cut to limit and share in revenues of Indian slots is being shut down with the Supreme Court ruling Schwarzenegger v. Rincon Indians.  Revenue sharing, you see, infers joint management, control or an ownership stake in the operation which is not allowed under the rules which allow Indian gaming to exist.

But heck, who cares about rules.  At least that’s what the lobbyists and Indian gaming investors seem to want.  Just move fast!  This panic will surely lead to bad deals for the local communities and that is clearly the intention of the gaming interests.  They wouldn't need to be spending tens of millions of dollars lobbying if the only outcomes here were increase jobs and new revenues for the Commonwealth.

Others like Nunes are simply threatening to circumvent any legislative review and balance by pushing forward a ballot measure which will secure his personal rights to be the Commonwealth’s casino czar – a bizarre and absurd abuse of the initiative process.  None of these special interest groups have the interests of the people of Massachusetts in mind; therefore, we must make sure our elected officials do.  Cost-benefit analyses, thorough credible consideration, transparent and open competition MUST be the hallmark of any gaming legislation enacted.

Fair Bid Process - What a Concept!

Lawmakers fearful of the negative impact that a tribal preference and Indian gaming schemes proposed most recently by David Nunes and part of the ever evolving plots of Cedric Cromwell and Genting.  States News Service is reporting that legislators from Southeastern Mass are lobbying Governor Patrick to abandon his plans to help the slots industry (Doug Rubin) and his Indian campaign lobbyist pals (Bill Delahunt) with special preferences and set-asides in pending gaming legislation.

They know that Indian gaming will bring with it:

1. Lower revenues for state coffers
2. Delayed jobs due to required federal legislation and administrative hurdles
3. Loss of local jurisdiction over law enforcement, zoning and taxes

If the Malaysian gaming giant Genting wants a piece of Massachusetts gambling, let them bid on it against the other developers.  If they win, they can pay taxes, obey local laws and help put Massachusetts back to work.  They don't need a questionable band of Indians with a history of corruption to make billions here.  The slot machine industry will still make hundreds of millions too, just not quite as many, with regulated machines paying license fees and sales tax to the state when sold to Genting or whomever ends up winning fair, open and competitive bids.

As for the Wampanoag, the tribe will be better off without the debt load and ridding themselves of the likes of Cedric Cromwell who will certainly flee the moment casino money promises dry up.  Cromwell, who has more English blood than Native American and only found his Wampanoag roots in the 1980's, is laughably now asserting a a "12,000 year" ancestral "right" run a gaming operation in Massachusetts.  Perhaps he'll take that argument next to his father's native homeland in Nova Scotia and set up his casino there.

David Nunes: One Gambling Addict Massachusetts Can’t Afford

David Nunes with his Crossroads Massachusetts, LLC is the latest player attempting to disrupt the current legislative process to create enabling rules for casino gambling in Massachusetts.  Nunes, an Aspen Colorado resident and developer, is threatening try and game the system with non-competitive slots and preferences for Indian gaming.  He has stretched his Massachusetts connections via Crossroads, LLC lobbying and campaign cash for more than a decade in a desperate attempt to feed a habit of corruption and special preference in his venture to add millions to a personal fortune that is anything but common in the Commonwealth.

Nunes – a purported three-time loser in his attempts to pass casino legislation including special preferences to benefit his narrow interests on the East Coast striking out, most notably, in Rhode Island with mega-partner Donald Trump – is so hooked in trying to cut a deal for his own benefit, he’s spent 13 years trying to game the state.  His lobbying efforts, nearly $100,000 spent in the past three years alone, apparently haven’t paid off sufficiently in spite of tens of thousands in political campaign contributions.  As a result, Nunes is threatening to take his marbles, lose as they may be, and play a different game.  This time dragging the state into a ballot measure process in which only he would be allowed, along with two Indian gaming operations, to open a casino in Massachusetts.

Boldly proclaiming to the Herald, "This is my life insurance policy," Nunes claims he’ll funnel new cash into an initiative process and not let anybody else even compete adding, “If I’m going to spend the money for the initiative, I’m not going to do it so somebody else can win.”   Nunes claims he’ll throw hundreds of thousands of dollars more to gather the thousands of signatures necessary to place his special preference question on the November 2012 ballot.  OK, so will have another year of disruption with some carpet bagging money bags allowed to put a measure on the state ballot that serves no one’s interests other than his own?  Who wouldn’t love to have that kind of dough and gall?

So just who is David Nunes; Why has he spent a fortune, brags he is prepared to spend even more, to support an industry that nearly one-third of Massachusetts residents oppose? Why the special deal for Indian gaming in his brazen and otherwise self-serving ballot tactic?  Send me your dirt, while I start digging.  Somebody this hair brained must have piles under the carpet...