By Rosalie Tirella

So many people have come up with other creative uses for the Wyman Gordon site in Green Island. For years the people of Green Island have been clamoring for a supermarket for that site, a full service grocery store that offers its customers FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, fresh fish, etc. Years ago, we had Supreme Market and Buellar Brothers Market and a fruit store – all on Millbury Street. Long gone. For these past four decades we’ve had freaking Honey Farms on Millbury Street. Canned Spam, canned crap, high prices. Depressing. And unhealthy for many Green Islanders who do not own cars and are forced to do their grocery shopping at a CONVENIENCE STORE.

Then there was a call for a bank branch and maybe a Walmart. Residents wanted a place to shop and, seeing Walmart is now in the grocery business, buy their groceries at a reasonable price.

Those Wyman Gordon dreams also bit the dust.

Now we have Rush Street Gaming breathing hot and heavy over the site. Slots dreams. What a pathetic joke to play on the people of Green Island, people who need the basic amenities – and have not gotten them.

Now here is my Wyman Gordon site dream. Piggy backing on Deb Cary’s idea, I am suggesting a SUPER FAMILY FUN PARK. A Whalom Park/Water Park/Miniature Golf/Batting Cages PLUS a family style restaurant for the site. A bonanza of fun for kids of all ages! A rollercoaster, The Scrambler, The Whip, Bumper Cars, The Spider, a haunted house, a lovely ephemeral Merry-go-round. Huge brightly colored water slides and spray park water flourishes, batting cages, fun wall climbing, game stands, concession stands, a sit down family restaurant. The Wyman Gordon site could accommodate all of this stuff. It would draw thousands of people from Worcester and Central MA and Metro West. Possibly even beyond ….

Great idea. Rush Street Gaming could build it – they are in the game biz after all, n’est ce pas?

Well, FORGEDABOUTIT!

The only reason Rush Street Gaming and the owner of the Wyman Gordon site are doing something with this mammoth brownfield is that with slots they make BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. With the super amusement park, they would make dough, BUT NOT ENOUGH. NOT THE KILLING THEY KNOW THEY WILL MAKE WITH SLOTS. THE GREEN ISLAND HOOD BE DAMNED. It is not about the people. Not about Worcester.

A friend of mine, a well-off friend, told me she and her hubby went gambling at Mohegan Sun. She lost the $500 her husband gave her to spend in about 10 minutes. He lost his $500 shortly after she did. He gave her some more dough to gamble away and she lost all that $$$ real fast, too.

That is what slots and gaming are made to do … Take a ton of your money real fast. The amount of cash slots will bring in, millions of dollars per slot machine, can never be equaled by the lowly amusement park cum water slides. That’s why Rush Street Gaming is here! To make billions of dollars, easily, quickly, consequences be damned. How quaint of us to think Rush would go for Merry-go-rounds and exercise for city kids!

Rush Street Gaming is bent on economic rape. And if the voters of Worcester approve their plans, we will be taking it up the ass, without wanting to, FOR DECADES.