Roosevelt's staunch opposition to gambling fits in with the rest of his moderate platform--tough on crime, big on welfare reform, supportive of small business.

None of those positions, he says, can be truly realized with a casino in town.

"It would be a tragedy to make Massachusetts the Las Vegas of the East," Roosevelt said in February.

While casino supporters can point to the success of Foxwoods, Roosevelt spokesperson Dwight D. Robson points instead to Atlantic City, N.J., where virtually every business in town except for the casinos has died since gambling came to town.

New Bedford officials don't deny there are disadvantages.

"It will create a certain amount of corruption and violence," says John Saunders, a New Bedford city councillor. "You have to adjust the area."

Roosevelt says those disadvantages are more than enough reason to kill a proposal that will have the opposite of its intended effect on the local economy.

"Who can compete with a restaurant offering you a $2.99 steak dinner and free drinks for everybody?" asked Roosevelt last month.

And while spokesperson Robson denies that Roosevelt sees gambling as an inherent moral evil, the candidate himself has based his opposition on the idea that some things--such as "personal responsibility"--are more important than money.

"I want to be the governor for the people who play by the rules, who want to make the most of their lives, who work hard day-to-day, who know that there is no quick fix, no easy jackpot, no success without effort," Roosevelt said last month.

Roosevelt's running mate, Robert K. Massie, is much more straightforward in his criticism of gambling from a moral standpoint; he calls it "morally reprehensible."

That may be explained by Massie's background. A lecturer at Harvard Divinity School, the lieutenant governor hopeful has served as an Episcopal priest.

The Wampanoags

The tribe that would run the casino, too, must answer the tough question, both economic and ethical: Is opening a casino in their best interests?

At first glance, the answer is an easy "yes." Planners estimate the casino will create 5000 to 7000 jobs, virtually guaranteeing employment for the tribe's 682 members.