Proximity to the airport may be a big plus for Suffolk Downs but is more than offset by proximity to the Blue Line. The last thing we need as a community is to make this kind of gambling easily accessible to low-wage workers, especially slots. And remember, the only reason these places exist is to separate you from your money. Their glitziness is a monument to losers. Put them on a highway somewhere, not near neighborhoods. And check out the wonderful contributions casinos have made to Nevada and Arizona and Mississippi. Do we really want to emulate these places?

Whatever is built at Suffolk will be far from a first class resort. Menino may not allow Walmart to build in Boston, but expect the Walmart of resorts to appear at Suffolk Downs. Something on a par with LV's Slot-a-Fun with it's 1/2 pound hot dogs and $1 blackjack. You really didn't expect Mass. to do this right, did you?

It's much more than political clout. Mainly it's location. Menino would probably support any acceptable proposal for a casino within Boston, but he only has one. If we're going to have casinos (and I personally wish we weren't), then one of them needs to be convenient to the large number of tourists and convention goers that come here each year, and use taxis and the T to get around. Foxboro doesn't fit that bill, but East Boston does.

It's not just "low-wage workers" that use the Blue Line. Kind of snobbish, don't you think? In fact, being on the Blue Line is a plus. Maybe some commuters on the way home to Beverly, via Wonderland Station, will stop off a Suffolk Downs for an hour or two.