A massive new casino near Boston and the harsh truth about targeting the Asian community

"I thought Boston, being a city of education and culture, wouldn't have a casino?"

Many people think this way. However, with the passage of the 'Expanded Gaming Law,' the doors to the casino industry have been opened wide.

As a result, there are now large casino facilities within a short drive from the Greater Boston area.

The most notable of these is the 'Encore Boston Harbor,' located in Everett, just a 10-minute drive from downtown Boston and accessible by public transport.

Opened in 2019, this massive resort casino has an investment of $2.1 billion (approximately 2.8 trillion won).

Situated next to the Charles River, it offers a view of Boston's beautiful skyline while guests can enjoy over 3,000 slot machines and more than 200 table games, making it crowded with many visitors, including the local Korean community, on weekends.

This resort casino, with its dazzling lights and fantastic spa and restaurants, appears to be a perfect entertainment space.

However, behind that glamorous facade lies a shocking and cold social fact: "Casinos are legally siphoning money from Asian immigrants."

Why have Asians become the most 'delicious prey' for casinos?

Recent media reports and official investigations by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) reveal that the notion of "Asians being vulnerable to gambling" goes beyond simple personal tendencies, showing how precisely and predatory casino companies are targeting the Asian community.

Visit rates more than three times the population ratio: Asians make up about 8.3% of the total population in Massachusetts. However, statistics show that nearly 25% of the visitors to Encore Boston Harbor Casino are Asian. This means that Asians are spending money here at a rate three times higher than their population ratio.

80% of the plaintiffs in lawsuits are Asian: It has been revealed that over 80% of debtors who have been sued by the casino for failing to repay loans taken out to gamble are of Asian descent. This is evidence that most of those driven to bankruptcy by the sweet 'credit' offered by the casino are Asians.

Casino companies do not simply wait for Asians to come because they like to gamble. They draw them in with meticulously calculated marketing.

First, there is the '24-hour free shuttle bus.' The casino operates free shuttle buses continuously to areas where Asian immigrants live, such as Boston's Chinatown, Dorchester, Quincy, and Malden. For elderly individuals with limited English skills and low-wage immigrant workers, the casino bus becomes the easiest 'ticket to play.' Inside the bus, they are handed free game coupons or meal vouchers, completely breaking down the barriers to entry.

Second, the exploitation of cultural isolation and economic insecurity. The Asian immigrant community, especially laborers working hard in laundries or restaurants, or isolated elderly individuals, experience severe language barriers and cultural alienation. The casino provides them with a perfect escape. Even without speaking English, they can be treated like royalty as long as they pay money, and the casino is filled with games familiar to Asians, such as baccarat, sic bo, and mahjong, with Asian staff welcoming them warmly. According to a report from the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC), over 60% of surveyed Asians responded that they visit casinos "to make quick money" or "because it is the only social space to alleviate loneliness."

The consequences of this insane system are dire. Many Korean and Asian families who thought they would just go to unwind on the weekend end up carelessly spending high credits set as traps by the casino, leading to their downfall. Stories of losing retirement savings accumulated from running a laundry business in just a few days or putting children's college funds into slot machines, resulting in family tragedies, are no longer rare in the Everett area, right next to a major city.

While the state government collects huge taxes from legalizing casinos, it is hard to avoid criticism that a significant portion of that tax comes from the tearful money of the most vulnerable immigrant communities of color. They may boast about allocating budgets for gambling addiction treatment, but the sad fact is that due to language and cultural barriers, help rarely reaches Asian addicts.

The casinos near Boston are not just simple recreational facilities. They are armed with the logic of capital and are very precise 'money-sucking machines' that cleverly exploit the weaknesses and cultural characteristics of the Asian community.

Just because local Koreans frequently visit or because the Boston skyline is beautiful, one should not knock on the doors of Encore Casino without any caution. The momentary entertainment can quickly turn into a swamp of gambling addiction that eats away at one's soul and family. It is time to remember the cold reality that "casinos do not engage in charity, and their massive profits are ultimately made on the backs of our neighbors' bankruptcies."