The big talk in New Bedford today is the Thanksgiving football game, with New Bedford High traveling to Fall River to take on archrival Durfee.

New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang predicts his guys will win, 21-14, while acting Fall River Mayor William Whitty says Durfee, 21-7.

No, the mayors don’t have a silly wager going. But if you want to talk about bringing serious gambling to town, a full-scale resort casino, Lang is your man.

He wants a casino in his city — if it won’t smother his city.

Don’t expect to find him gambling there, though.

“I’m not a gambler,” Lang tells me. “And, quite frankly, I know some people do it for entertainment. I don’t find it entertaining. I don’t believe in it.”

So what gives? Lang says Massachusetts desperately needs the jobs and the revenue casinos would bring, it’s stupid to see residents flock to Connecticut’s casinos and Rhode Island’s Twin River, and a casino could fit in nicely with the Whaling City’s historic character and leisure venues.

Governor Patrick proposes three resort casinos, including one in Southeastern Massachusetts; Middleboro is panting.

Lang says of the Bay State, “We need the money. I think that if you build your economy based around casinos, no good will come of it. But if you make it a small piece and do it right and control it and make sure that it’s complementary to your economy, it makes all the sense in the world.”

I think Lang is dreaming in thinking a New Bedford casino would bolster local businesses. A casino resort would suck people in and offer a range of options to keep them on the premises.

Several prospective gambling developers have been eyeing New Bedford. Lang says a casino there could get by with a smaller site than in other communities, and he’d insist that the operation integrate itself into the community.

He says, “We have a golf course in the city. We have one performing arts center and then we have two that need to be refurbished. We have fantastic restaurants of every nationality.” So, for example, he says, sure, some gamblers might prefer to stick to the casino, grab a hamburger, and keep playing the slots. But some gamblers might like to try a Portuguese restaurant. He doesn’t want the casino telling them, fine, we’ve built a “World of Portugal” right here. “That’s when the whole thing breaks down and you realize that the enemy is here among us,” Lang says. Instead, he wants the casino to whisk folks into town in limos to dine on authentic cuisine.

Lang, 57, has been a prosecutor; a lawyer focusing on sports, entertainment and labor; and has toiled in Democratic politics.

GTECH executive Donald Sweitzer, a former party operative, crossed paths with him in the 1980 Ted Kennedy presidential campaign and at the Democratic National Committee. Sweitzer calls Lang “very serious-minded … very smart.” Sweitzer says, “He was always one of these calm cool guys who just kind of broke things down to what’s a fact and what’s not and how we should go forward.”

Myself, as a son of Fall River, whose model of excellent elocution is Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy, I can assure you that Lang does not sound local. Indeed, he comes from Long Island. So I asked if he’s a Yankee fan.

Now his smooth talk disappeared, replaced by rambling reminiscing about decades of baseball. Bottom line: Though he loves a lot of the Sox players, he is indeed a Yankee fan. But he’s a savvy fellow, and I have hope he may yet see the light.

M. Charles Bakst is The Journal’s political columnist.

mbakst@projo.com