With job creation touted as a key reason for bringing casinos to Massachusetts, Boston may have a stronger case for the eastern region’s sole resort gaming license than the Kraft-Wynn team’s Foxboro proposal.
The Herald’s review of state unemployment figures shows that Boston, with a total of 21,968 people out of work, eclipses not only Foxboro, with 611 unemployed, but the fewer than 15,000 jobless in Foxboro’s neighboring towns and nearby cities.
“It’s about economic revitalization for a neighborhood and creating real jobs for that city or town where it’s located,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said about the state’s gambling expansion.
Casino developer Steve Wynn has promised to bring 10,000 jobs to a casino near Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
Foxboro’s surrounding seven towns have a total of 3,655 unemployed, while the nearby urban centers of Brockton, Taunton, Attleboro and North Attleboro have a total of 10,524 listed as unemployed — still less than densely populated Boston, with its population of 617,594. Southeastern Massachusetts, meanwhile, is expected to benefit from jobs at a Fall River or New Bedford-based casino.
Foxboro has been sharply divided over bringing in a casino, and selectmen are proceeding cautiously, concerned about the character of their town despite a promise of
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