We're preparing for that fight,' said Timothy Paul Baymon, president of the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield.

Opponents, including a coalition of Christian churches that have banded together, are bracing for battle. They're spending the mortgage, the rent, the grocery money.' 'People are spending not only discretionary money. The new electronic slot machines are called the crack cocaine of the casino industry,' said EmmaLadd Shepherd, 77, an activist in a group called Quaboag Valley Against Casinos. 'To me, the biggest issue is that the casinos are predatory. The argument may be settled statewide but will now be disputed at the local level, where opponents who never wanted to see Massachusetts embrace casinos can at least try to stop them in their hometowns. 'The question now is about location and benefits and economics for the community that's selected.' That's been decided,' said Kevin Kennedy, chief development officer for Springfield. 'The question no more is about the morality of a casino. The other districts are the southeastern part of the state and the Boston area. The law drew up three districts in the state and allotted one casino license to each, ensuring that western Massachusetts, an area lagging the rest of the state in jobs and income as a result of a lost manufacturing base, would receive a jolt of economic development.

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