RyansWorld: South New England

'''Special Note: Please note that this scenario is meant to be read as entertainment, not as an accurate prediction of the future. Also note that the viewpoints and opinions that may come across in this scenario are not necessarily the viewpoints and opinions of the author.''' The State of South New England was established on January 1, 2025. The State of South New England consists of the the old states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and anywhere east of the Connecticut River in Connecticut. The capital city of South New England is Boston

Merger of the three states
The states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut dug themselves a big hole with their debts and Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut having unemployment rates near 10%. In hopes of improving the economy in that area, these three states became one to get more people to fix the problems in this new state. After the election, residents of South New England decided to elect Tagg Romney, with his campaign for a balanced budget to eliminate the $340 million debt that these three states collected. He is the son of the old Govenor of Massachusetts back in the 2000's and U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney as their new govenor.

Changes after merger
When South New England merged into one state in 2025, alcohol possession and consumption age lowered to 18 and marijuana became legal, joining the states of Colorado, Washington, Alaska, California, Maine and Vermont in legalization. The minimum age for the consumption and possession of marijuana is 18. South New England is now the only state with a minimum drinking age of 18. The legal age for gambling at casinos that used to have a minimum gambling age of 21 became 18. Prostitution became legalized or re-legalized, depending on where in South New England you live in. Because South New England will now get less federal highway funding for the lowering of the drinking age, taxes on gas have risen from 70 cents per gallon to 95 cents per gallon. Marijuana will now be taxed 12%. After these laws changed, South New England has now seen a small boost in tourism and the unemployment rate dropped from 7.9% to 6.6%.

The rise of the gambling industry
With Las Vegas becoming a ghosttown after they ran out of water in year 2050, that paved the way for South New England to become the gambling center of the world. In South New England, they have 5 major casinos, Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Taunton Casino in Taunton and Palmer Casino in Palmer. These casinos have already become major tourist attractions on the East Coast of Canadamerica and when the major casinos in Las Vegas closed down, these casinos have now become worldwide attractions for people all across the world, causing a boom in the economy in this state, boom in tourism in this state, boom in population in this state and a boom in real estate in this area. New London, which is right next to Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, which once had an unemployment rate of 11% in 2013 now had an unemployment rate of 2.6%. Providence, which is right next to Twin River and Taunton, which once had an unemployment of 10.6% now has an unemployment rate of 3.8%.

To cash in on the casino boom, casinos are now built everywhere in South New England. Every city and town now has at least one casino in every city and town. Boston now hosts ten casinos, the biggest one being where Wonderland used to be in East Boston, Providence hosts five casinos and so does Worcester and Springfield. East Hartford, across the river from Hartford, NY just built three casinos right on the Connecticut River. These casinos are a big hit due to being across the river from New York, where there are little casinos.

Population of cities in South New England
2030-

1. Boston 700,000

2. Providence 200,000

3. Worcester 195,000

4. Springfield 140,000

5. Cambridge 115,000

6. Quincy 110,000

7. New Bedford 105,000

8. Lowell 100,000

9. Brockton 95,000

10. Lynn 93,000

Berkshire Region
The Berkshire Region is is in the western part of South New England, home to the most mountainous area in South New England. This region is home to numerous ski areas, parks, marijuana bars, world-class colleges, the Basketball Hall of Fame, colonial villages, Six Flags and Palmer Casino. There will be more casinos built but not until the South New England gambling boom of the 2050s.

Boston Region
The Boston Region consists of anywhere east of Interstate 495. Boston, the capital consists of historical sites from the 1700's, world class colleges, popular bars for drinking and consuming marijuana, popular brothels, the Boston Bruins of the NHL, the Boston Celtics of the NBA and Boston will have the Red Sox of the MLB until the MLB becomes bankrupt in 2035. Boston will eventually, in 2045 have an NAFL team, the Boston Rebels. Boston is also home to the Sam Adams brewery and the John Adams marijuana cigarette factory. The Boston Region is also home to America's oldest seaport, Gloucester, Salem, Foxboro (home of the New England Patriots of the NFL until the NFL becomes bankrupt in 2030 due to the popularity of the NAFL and the Boston Rebels of the NAFL).

Cape Cod Region
The Cape Cod region is known for world-class beaches, world-class enough to attract millionaire beachgoers to be a tourist there. This place is also home to world class antique shops and great fishing. This place is a hit with the LGBT community with Provincetown being the mecca for LGBT tourism. Cape Cod, during the 2050's will even become more exclusive with a bunch of world-class casinos being built there.

Providence Region
The Providence Region consists of Providence, where the home of Waterplace Park, the Providence Place Mall, a bunch of world-class marijuana bars, brothels, the Roger Williams Zoo and home to great Italian dining in Federal Hill. Providence will become more of a destination after the opening of the Westerly marijuana cigarette factory and the re-opening of the Narragansett Brewery. Providence will also cash in on casinos during the casino boom. In the Providence Region, you can go to Twin River Casino in Lincoln or the Taunton Casino in Taunton but a lot of more casinos will open during the casino boom. The Providence Region is also home to a bunch of historical mills, the big 4th of July parade in Bristol, New Bedford which was home to a big whaling/seafood boom and Newport, home to historical mansions, great beaches and the Tennis Hall of Fame.

Southwest Casino/Beach Region
The Southwest Casino/Beach Region is home to a lot of great beaches, Mystic, which is home to a historical seaport and also has an aquarium, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino. The Southwest Casino/Beach Region will also become home to North Stonington-Ashaway Speedway, which opens up in 2040, a 1.5 mile racetrack with 32 degree bankings where the NASCAR Google Cup Series races in June and October. This area won't be anything really special until the big South New England casino boom comes around during the 2050's where the economy in this region flourishes and the population of these areas will quadruple.