Actually, even the agenda-pushing polls can't hide the fact that we do not want them here.
But this is Massachusetts, where it always seems we get what we do not want.
"Casinos get boost as DeLeo signs on; Joins Patrick, Murray in push for gaming" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | September 19, 2009
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo expressed strong support yesterday for bringing resort-style casinos to Massachusetts, one of the clearest indications yet that lawmakers are poised to expand gambling as they seek fresh revenues in a down economy.
In a separate speech yesterday morning, Senate President Therese Murray also made the case that Massachusetts should legalize casinos, asserting that they would bring hundreds of new jobs and capture money currently going to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
The comments by DeLeo and Murray put the state’s top three political leaders on similar ground in support of resort-style casinos for the first time as the Legislature plans to begin considering a major bill as early as next month. DeLeo has been a supporter of expanded gambling, but in the past has put an emphasis on installing slot machines at racetracks instead of building resort-style casinos complete with amenities such as hotels, shops, and golf courses.
“Given the importance of economic development, as well as the vital need for revenue, I have expanded my thinking,’’ DeLeo said in an address in Waltham to a meeting of Associated Industries of Massachusetts. “In addition to my backing of slots, I now support resort casinos.’’
At about the same time, Murray, speaking to the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, said: “The reality is that hundreds of millions of dollars are going to Connecticut casinos from Massachusetts residents every year. We need to explore ways how we can capture that revenue.’’
They are ill; they are addicted to tax loot.
She said building casinos would means hundreds of construction jobs, as well as permanent employment once the casinos open.
That is such a lie! "Permanent" job!
In an interview yesterday, DeLeo said House lawmakers are drafting legislation, with hearings likely to begin next month.
And this was SIX MONTHS AGO!
A debate before the full House, he said, could begin before lawmakers recess in mid-November, but seems more likely early next year.
Oh.
Governor Deval Patrick’s plan to license three resort casinos was defeated last year, in large part because of opposition by House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi.
That is why he is gone.
With DiMasi now out of office, the debate has shifted dramatically: It is no longer about whether Massachusetts will see expanded gaming, but when and in what form.
Another fait accompli.
“What has interested me all along is the jobs and the revenue,’’ Patrick told reporters yesterday in the Berkshires. “And I think there is a way to do this that maximizes the jobs and revenues and minimizes - not eliminates, minimizes - the adverse impacts.’’
Still, the casino industry has struggled mightily with the economic downturn, forcing many developers to scale back projects and focus on retaining their current properties, rather than on adding new ones. The Globe reported Sunday that Foxwoods in Connecticut, which has long been a success story in the casino industry, laid off about 6 percent of its workforce last year and saw its revenues from slot machines plunge 13 percent in July, compared with the previous year.
Related: Casino Comparisons: Connecticut's Foxwoods Failure
Nonetheless, DeLeo cast the plan yesterday as a ministimulus package for Massachusetts, one he said would bring in new revenues and create jobs as the state seeks to recover economically....
Pffft!
That argument may have more urgency after Patrick announced yesterday that he expects to make further spending cuts this year because of falling revenues.
“I don’t see an appetite for new taxes, and we don’t have much left in the rainy day fund,’’ DeLeo said. “We need to bring in new revenue.’’
Of course, one month earlier the sales tax went from 5% to 6.25% -- and they still do not have enough money.
He also argued that slot machines could be installed quickly at the racetracks, bringing in new revenues, while giving casino companies more time to build resort casinos, which would create new construction jobs....
Casino developers have been closely monitoring the gambling debate in Massachusetts and have scoured the state for land and partnerships. Mohegan Sun in Connecticut has been laying the groundwork to build a casino in Palmer, a small community near Springfield. Several developers have looked at land in neighboring Warren.
See: The Palmer Protests
Suffolk Downs in East Boston has been jockeying for the past two years, securing key political backing and trying to ensure that it has the inside track on a Boston-area casino. Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere has joined with Suffolk Downs to compete for one casino license....
More: Wonderland Loses Its Luster
There are several other developers who have hired lobbyists and expressed interest in Massachusetts previously, but have not announced specific plans.
--more--"So what about the costs?
"Panel grapples with economic, social questions on casinos" by Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff | October 30, 2009
The hearing of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies was the first in a series of hearings on the contentious casino issue before the panel, which faces an array of 16 separate gambling measures and the task of merging ideas to produce a new gambling bill as early as January.
Only one I read about.
While many of the arguments were familiar, the gambling push has an air of near-inevitability: For the first time in years, all three political leaders on Beacon Hill support expanded gambling. While Governor Deval Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray had been pushing for casinos, former House speaker Salvatore DiMasi actively blocked it last year, before he was replaced by Robert A. DeLeo, who has long supported slot machines, but who last month also came out strongly in favor of resort-style casinos.
That is why Sal was outed on the corruption; they are all corrupt up there.
The Legislature is expected to cull elements from the bills before them and introduce a new gambling bill as early as January. Given the current economic recession and the governor’s announcement yesterday that he may eliminate 1,000 to 2,000 state jobs, labor and business leaders seized on casinos with open desperation, saying that the threat of social ills from gambling could be managed while the devastating realities of unemployment could not be....
This from the same people throwing tax loot at Evergreen when they are leaving for China.
Gambling opponents leaped on reports of economic hardships, even for casinos, to challenge the assumption that it could be a salve for current economic woes. Twin Rivers casino in Rhode Island, for example, is facing bankruptcy and seeking a bailout from the state.
Related: Rhode Island First State to Bail Out Casinos
Casino Comparisons: Rhode Island's Red Ink
Just as long as you know what you are in for, Bay-Stater.
“It’s the worst possible time we could be considering casino gambling,’’ said state Senator Susan C. Tucker, an Andover Democrat on the committee. “Casinos all over the country are going bankrupt.’’
Hey, when did the FACTS ever stand in the way of Massachusetts politicians?
What the economy needs now is for consumers to spend their money at local businesses, she said, prompting one union member to grumble from the gallery, “We don’t have any money.’’
And you will have even less with these folks coming to town.
Tucker challenged supporters’ estimates of the millions in economic activity that casinos could bring to Massachusetts. “Start subtracting,’’ she said, adding that those profits would be cut by costs, including new regulations and government employees needed to oversee and audit the new industry. She said she would prefer to see growth in areas such as one she is promoting in her district in Lawrence, developing old mills into affordable housing. “We have choices about where we grow jobs in Massachusetts,’’ she said.
The testimony drew a wide array of speakers and interest groups, from the leaders of the state’s largest labor and business organizations to a small group from Palmer, a community near Springfield where Mohegan Sun of Connecticut has proposed a casino. (They wore matching navy T-shirts that said “Palmer + Casinos = Jobs.’’)
Yeah, nothing from the antigambling majority out here.
And individuals from quiet corners of the state rose in Gardner Auditorium to offer their own impassioned pleas. While opponents offered a sometimes hyperbolic view of gambling and academics likened its influence on the brain to that of cocaine, defenders said casinos would increase legitimate jobs for working-class people.
Actually, I'M USED to the INSULTS and view them as a badge of honor now.
And the EFFECT is ON the POLITICIANS. I guess that's why the Globe took such offense!
Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Revere Democrat, said she found it insulting that opponents suggest that casino jobs are not real and that they know what is best for people in her neighborhood. “I’ll tell you what the majority of my neighbors and I want,’’ said Reinstein, who said she once worked in a casino. “We want gaming. We want the jobs. We want the revenue.’’
Fine. Keep 'em the f*** out of MY PART of the state, 'kay?
A potentially devastating impact on families was cited as a primary reason for opposing gambling and slot machines in particular.
“Why is this not being considered a consumer protection issue when slot machines are very carefully designed to addict people and then to swindle them for everything they have?’’ asked Evelyn T. Reilly, director of public policy for the Massachusetts Family Institute. She contended that, based on estimates of the reach of problem gambling, the addition of several casinos in the state would affect millions of people. “We’re talking here about potentially impacting negatively two out of three people in the state,’’ she said.
Hey, who cares when politicians start seeing dollar $igns, 'ey?
A legislator offered dramatic personal testimony about the harrowing effects of gambling in his own family. Representative Carl M. Sciortino Jr., a Somerville Democrat, said one of his close relatives lost his job, his apartment, and ended up committing suicide “because of the challenge and shame and the struggle,’’ of a gambling addiction. “There’s no amount of money that can fix the damage that’s been done,’’ Sciortino said.
Not something that factor$ into the equation, sorry.
We won't be reading much of those problems anymore, readers. Not in the Globe.
"Patrick, DeLeo divided on track slot machines; Harmful effects worry governor" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | December 30, 2009
Governor Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, both leading Democrats, support bringing casino gambling to the state....
The governor: “I’m not trying to be a jerk here.’’
Yeah, somehow, it just happens!
************
The governor stopped short of saying he would veto a bill that authorizes slots at racetracks, saying it was “too early to start issuing veto threats.’’
DeLeo has been trying to appease track owners, who for years have been lobbying for the right to install slot machines at their facilities. He argues that slot machines, unlike casinos, can be put in quickly, within 90 to 150 days, he said.
“I’d look at the slots as a more immediate form of revenue for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,’’ DeLeo told State House News Service last week. “By the time we finish with resort casinos, it could be two, three, four, five years maybe for the whole process.’’
There would be a “natural progression’’ from slot machines to resort casinos, he said. The speaker added yesterday that he considers slot machines at racetracks to be “an important part of expanded gaming.’’
*********
DeLeo is expected to file a bill in January or February....
The state’s two dog racetracks, Raynham Park and Wonderland Greyhound Park, had to stop running live races last week as a result of a ballot question that banned dog racing in Massachusetts.
See: Last Race at Raynham
The other two racetracks, Suffolk Downs and Plainridge, have horse racing, but have also been pursuing casinos. In March 2008, the House defeated a proposal that Patrick had pushed to license three resort casinos around the state. The opposition was led by Salvatore F. DiMasi, then the house speaker. The likelihood of expanded gambling improved when DeLeo took over this year.
Again, Sal's dismissal makes sense now.
Doesn't mean he is any less of a scum or deserving of sympathy; it's just the power politics of the Hill on display.
The debate shifted from whether gambling would be expanded to what form it would take. (Some in the gambling industry have even started referring to the gambling timeline as B.D. and A.D., “Before DiMasi’’ and “After DiMasi.’’)
Last week, Patrick expressed frustration that lawmakers had postponed the casino debate until next year. Patrick faces reelection in November, and his advocacy of casino gambling was an issue that divided his liberal base. Legislators may also be wary of taking a difficult vote in a year when they, too, are running for reelection.
What bull-oney!
“We haven’t gotten, candidly, into much substance, because the House is still trying to sort out where they are and where they want to go,’’ Patrick added. The debate is further complicated by the fact that the casino industry has struggled in the recession.
Yeah, it is AMAZING how LITTLE that gets MENTIONED as they PITCH their PLAN!
Casino developers have been forced to scale back or cancel projects and focus instead on retaining their current properties. Some popular gambling sites have seen major dropoffs in revenue.
In his letter to DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray, Patrick said there “may be merit’’ in conducting, as gambling opponents have proposed, a “fresh, independent, and transparent analysis of the benefits and costs of expanded gaming.’’
But DeLeo rebuffed that idea yesterday.
“Because gaming has been extensively studied in recent years, I’m not sure a lengthy study in place of a bill is what we need right now,’’ he said. “Given our current economic situation, I think our focus ought to be on bringing jobs to the Commonwealth and not on more delay.’’
The 12 states that had slot machines at racetracks in 2008 provided $2.6 billion in tax revenue to state and local governments, according to the American Gaming Association. Racetrack owners in Massachusetts have been making their case that if they are not included in an expanded gambling proposal, they may have to shut their gates....
Suffolk Downs in East Boston has been jockeying for expanded gambling for the past several years, securing key political backing, and trying to ensure that it has the inside track on a Boston-area casino. Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere has joined with Suffolk Downs to compete for one casino license and build the facility at Suffolk....
“No matter what you call it, if expanded gaming is authorized at Suffolk Downs, we plan to build a world-class, resort-style destination and to put thousands of people to work right away to do that,’’ said Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer at Suffolk Downs.
Promises, promises.
--more--"
"Gambling proposal may be gaining; This time, jobs could be key issue" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff | February 4, 2010
Massachusetts lawmakers will revive one of Beacon Hill’s most contentious issues in the coming weeks with measures to legalize casino gambling and slots at racetracks, betting that desperation to create new jobs and revenue could tip the debate this time around.
State Representative Brian Dempsey, cochair of the Legislature’s economic development committee, predicted his colleagues will be more receptive to legalized gambling than they were two years ago, when House lawmakers rejected Governor Deval Patrick’s plan to license three casinos.
As I become even more opposed, of course.
“High unemployment is causing many members to rethink the issue,’’ said Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat. “We certainly need to do everything we can to grow jobs. It doesn’t mean we’re not interested in life sciences, biotech, and manufacturing, but this can be another part of our work to have a positive impact on the economy.’’
Yeah, only when it is something they want.
If it is what we want, it is "Naw, can't do it."
Another big change from the last debate: The Legislature’s primary gambling opponent in 2008, Salvatore F. DiMasi, is no longer speaker of the House. His successor, Robert A. DeLeo of Winthrop, is a longtime supporter of gaming who has Wonderland Greyhound Park in his district.
Again, I cannot emphasize enough the agenda-pushing politics behind this.
DeLeo is expected to file a gambling bill this month, and his support as lead sponsor could give it more momentum among rank-and-file members....
The House proposal, in the works for months....
And here they are going to tell us below they just finished it!
He's had it lying around waiting.
Meanwhile, gambling opponents are mobilizing for another fight. Organizers of a group called United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts said they have recruited volunteers across the state.
Seems like that's all we ever do; one battles over, and then it starts all over again.
“There is very strong populist opposition to this when people are given the facts about the predatory nature of the gambling industry,’’ said Kathleen Conley Norbut, president of United to Stop Slots, which also opposes casinos. “Convenience gambling is a drain on local economies. It’s a wrong-headed idea.’’
Yeah, that's all the anti-gambling crowd gets for a voice in the pro-gambling Globe.
They would rather pitch you the agenda:
"DeLeo to pitch for slots, casinos; Sees gambling at tracks, resorts; revenue to boost jobs, speaker says" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | March 4, 2010
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, reigniting what is sure to be a contentious debate, will outline his blueprint for expanded gambling today, saying the state should legalize both slot machines at racetracks and resort-style casinos, according to a person familiar with his plans.
In a speech on job creation to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, DeLeo will propose that the state sell licenses to the developers of slots and casinos, according to the person, who was not authorized to reveal details of the speaker’s plan and asked for anonymity. A portion of that revenue would be dedicated to a special fund to help Massachusetts manufacturers with capital investments, with the goal of keeping struggling employers afloat and encouraging others to move to the state, the person said. It was unclear how specific DeLeo will be today in unveiling his gambling proposal. The speaker plans to file a bill in the House within the next two weeks.
His speech to the Chamber of Commerce promises to kick off debate on an issue that could dominate the spring agenda at the State House, in the midst of another tough budget year and election-year politicking....
Yes, it has and is.
And now he is going to bat for them, 'eh?
"DeLeo goes to bat for casinos, slots; Speaker now 1-for-2 with Patrick, Murray" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | March 5, 2010
In laying out his vision for expanded gambling, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo told the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce yesterday that he believes the state needs both casinos and slots. Speaking in deeply personal terms, he recalled the dignity of the food vendors, security guards, and teller-window operators employed by the two racetracks in his district, and he recalled watching his father don a tuxedo to work as a maĆ®tre d’ at Suffolk Downs.
Related: DeLeo and His Dad
Oh, puke.
“It is quite possible, even likely, that these jobs will not be the high-wage jobs we have seen in other sectors of our state’s economy,’’ Deleo said. “Yet we cannot deny the obvious: They are value-added jobs, jobs that would help those suffering in the blue-collar depression.’’
So how many illegals are they going to hire?
In his speech, DeLeo, who became speaker a little more than a year ago, provided the most detailed account yet of his views on casinos, which sharply depart from those of his predecessor, Salvatore F. DiMasi, a staunch gambling opponent who pushed the House to kill Governor Deval Patrick’s plan for three resort casinos in March 2008.
DeLeo said his plan would call for the state to sell gambling licenses for the casinos and a limited number of slots at the tracks. The fees from those licenses would be dedicated to help Massachusetts manufacturers stay afloat, by funding capital improvements.
Additional money would go to job-training programs at community colleges and programs that combat gambling addiction.
“I have cautioned before, and I am going to caution everyone here again: Gaming is not a panacea,’’ DeLeo said. “But it is a plan; it is a plan that creates a new economic sector and new jobs in Massachusetts when we need them most.’’
Even though the speaker and his deputies have been drafting a gambling bill for months, he and his aides said they could not answer many basic questions until the bill is unveiled, sometime in the next two weeks. DeLeo said he had no estimate of how many jobs his plan would create, how much revenue it would generate, or where the casinos would be located.
“There are too few details to really say much,’’ said Senator Stanley Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat and Senate President Therese Murray’s point man on casinos. “If you want to maximize jobs and maximize revenue, then resort casinos are the way to go.
We will be hearing from him more in the future.
“And one of the things that has to be assessed very carefully is how many venues and machines and tables you have in the state without compromising the industry’s viability,’’ Rosenberg said.
DeLeo said he envisioned a commission or a third party deciding which developers would build the casinos and where they would be located....
DeLeo’s plan was eagerly endorsed by companies seeking to benefit from expanded gambling, several of which released statements promising thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in investments....Gee, I cannot imagine why, can you, reader$?
--more--"
And the finished product?
"DeLeo puts last touches on his slots, casinos bill; Looks to add jobs, save racetracks" by Michael Levenson and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | April 1, 2010
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo today will unveil a long-awaited bill to license two resort-style casinos in Massachusetts and slot machines at the state’s four struggling racetracks, a plan House leaders believe would create as many as 15,000 jobs.
I'm tired of the inflation of the job figures, as well as the endless s*** sell.
Under the bill, which promises to dominate the legislative agenda this spring, the state would collect 25 percent of the revenue from both casinos, which industry officials say could each generate $250 million to $300 million annually, according to one person briefed on the plan, who asked for anonymity to discuss details before today’s announcement.
So how do they plan on wasting it?
The state would also sell licenses to casino developers, which the industry says could generate $75 million to $100 million each to help ease the state’s fiscal crisis. Debate on the legislation, expected to begin the week after next, will unfold in a political environment radically different from the one three years ago, when Governor Deval Patrick unsuccessfully pushed his own plan to bring three casinos to Massachusetts. DeLeo replaced as speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, an ardent opponent of expanded gambling who led the effort to kill that bill.
Polls have indicated mixed public support for casino gambling. Some opposition remains in the Legislature, especially as the struggling economy has slowed revenues at other gambling establishments in New England. Still, proponents are predicting a more favorable outcome this time around.
DeLeo did not make any public statements yesterday, huddling instead with his leadership team and casino supporters from the state’s leading labor unions and business groups.
“It’s a full-court press in there,’’ state Representative Daniel E. Bosley, a North Adams Democrat and leading opponent of expanded gambling, said as he passed DeLeo’s office.
Driving at least part of the legislation is DeLeo’s desire to save the racetracks, two of which — Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere and Suffolk Downs in East Boston — are in his district....
Yeah, self-serving interests is driving him; to hell with the rest of us in the state.
Casino opponents expressed outrage at the closed-door deliberations and accused DeLeo of failing to give the public and rank-and-file lawmakers adequate time to consider the bill. Members of the group United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts dubbed it the “supersecret slots bill,’’ and demanded an independent economic analysis of the legislation, which they say will harm small businesses.
And there will be EVEN MORE OUTRAGE below!
Also see: The Perils of One-Party Politics: The Ruling Party
The Perils of One-Party Politics: Massachusetts' Democracy
Yup, that is what they are going to do.
“Where is the voice for the jobs that will be lost?’’ Kathleen Conley Norbut, president of the group, said at a State House news conference.
Opponents are also warning of additional social costs. The Rev. Jack Johnson, executive director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches, said it is cruel and morally indefensible to dismiss compulsive gambling as “simply the cost of doing business.’’
“Slots will bring new costs to every citizen, even those who never set foot in a slot parlor or casino,’’ Johnson said.
Hundreds of union workers, meanwhile, flooded the State House yesterday to build support for the bill. Wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Casinos Now! Jobs Now!,’’ they held a rally and then walked the hallways, lobbying legislators.
Francis X. Callahan Jr., president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council, said 35 percent of the organization’s members are unemployed — the highest rate since the Great Depression.
And they think slots are going to save them?
And if that is true, then the unemployment and "recovery" numbers are all lies!!
Can't have it both ways.
Can't say on the one hand all these people are out of work, and on the other say the economy is growing and doing great.
Sorry.
At the rally, several of those workers shared their stories and their hopes for a job building a casino. Peter Hunnefeld, a 41-year-old journeyman electrician and father of four from Hingham, said he has not been able to find steady work in 2 1/2 years and his home is in foreclosure.
“I know that a resort-style casino project would offer me a good opportunity to get that work,’’ Hunnefeld said.
No bailout for you, huh?
Bill Frost, a 53-year-old union carpenter from Acton, said this year “has been the slowest year for work I’ve seen since Gerry Ford was president.’’
“This allows people to plan their future and their life,’’ Frost said. “It’s a lot more than just making a mortgage payment.’’
I'm so sick of the unabashed agenda-pushing, I really am.
The workers, some wearing hard hats covered in union decals, frequently burst into applause, chanting, “We want jobs!’’
Yeah, when it doesn't work out don't come bitching to me, labor. I do NOT WANT to HEAR or READ ANY COMPLAINTS about JOB CONDITIONS, BENEFITS, PAY, or ANYTHING!!! You want 'em you got 'em!!!
“We will get this done this year,’’ Representative Martin J. Walsh, a Dorchester Democrat, said at the union rally.
Oh, I know; it is happening right now.
--more--"
And remember that outrage I was talking about?
"Casino bill won’t get public airing; DeLeo aims for vote this month despite outcry from opponents" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | April 2, 2010
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said yesterday that he would not hold a public hearing on his 172-page bill to license two resort casinos in Massachusetts and slot machines at the state’s four racetracks before moving the measure to the House floor for a vote the week after next.
The plan — as casino lobbyists, union officials, and racetrack supporters rallied behind the bill — drew criticism from opponents of expanded gambling and even from Governor Deval Patrick, a casino supporter, who said the speaker should allow all sides to be heard on a proposal that could profoundly alter the state’s social and economic fabric....
Kathleen Conley Norbut, president of the group United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts, expressed outrage at the decision. “I almost can’t find the words for that,’’ she said. “It’s not overstating it to say it’s a misstep in democracy.’’
DeLeo, who has been crafting the legislation for months, said lawmakers have already held two public hearings on other gambling bills this session and have discussed the issue many times in the two decades he has served in the Legislature. “Everything has been studied thoroughly, and we’re ready to go,’’ he said.
You f***ing fat s***!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeLeo is hoping to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a possible veto by Patrick, who opposes slots at the tracks. For the first time since he became speaker early last year, DeLeo has ordered his leadership team to not only poll members on the bill, but to push them on it as well, legislators said.
He isn't going to veto it!
“The speaker is making it clear that he wants people to vote for this bill,’’ said one lawmaker, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. “We’re not going to think about much else until this is over.’’
DeLeo predicted he will be able to cobble together enough support to pass the bill two years after his predecessor, Salvatore F. DiMasi, a staunch gambling opponent, led the House to reject, on a 108-to-46 vote, a plan pushed by the governor to license three resort casinos. Even some gambling opponents are saying the bill could pass.
“Since Sal DiMasi left, it’s been inevitable that we’re going to have expanded gaming in the Commonwealth,’’ said Representative Ellen Story, an Amherst Democrat who said she is personally opposed to expanded gambling. “It’s sort of a perfect storm, with the governor and the Senate president and the speaker all wanting expanded gaming and the economy being in such a terrible trough.’’
A beaming DeLeo unveiled his bill yesterday before a large and enthusiastic crowd of gambling lobbyists, union officials, and racetrack supporters gathered around him. Casting the bill as a jobs measure, he was repeatedly interrupted by applause and cheers from union construction workers standing behind him.
F*** ya, then.
“I look into the eyes of these people who are worried about their health care, worried about how they’re going to feed their families, worried about if they’re going to lose their homes,’’ DeLeo said. “The time to act is now.’’
Related: The Massachusetts State Budget
Yeah, he's really worried about you considering where the tax loot is coming fom and where it is going.
DeLeo was joined by officials from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, who praised casinos as a way to create jobs and ease the financial strain on state and local budgets. “When you look at this bill and you look at the people who spoke here today, it gives you a great idea of the support it has,’’ DeLeo said.
Yeah, and what i$ behind it.
It is not at all clear, however, how the bill will make it past Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray, who both support casinos but oppose slots at the tracks, arguing that slots would not create as many jobs. An hour after DeLeo’s press conference, Patrick held his own outside his office to restate his concerns about DeLeo’s bill....
Pfft!
--more--"Moving it right along.
"Panel OK’s DeLeo’s gambling proposal
A key legislative committee has approved House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo’s bill to license two resort-style casinos in Massachusetts and 750 slot machines at the state’s four racetracks. Twelve members of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies voted for the bill yesterday. Two others — Representative Denis E. Guyer, a Dalton Democrat, and Senator Susan C. Tucker, Democrat of Andover and a longtime opponent of expanded gambling — voted against the measure. Five abstained, including Senators Karen E. Spilka, Democrat of Ashland and the committee’s cochairwoman, and Anthony W. Petruccelli, an East Boston Democrat whose district includes Wonderland Greyhound Park and Suffolk Downs. Spilka and Petruccelli said they had not yet read the bill. The House is expected to debate the measure next week. --more--"
"Gambling bill gets past second committee
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo’s proposal to legalize casinos and racetrack slot machines received a second significant vote of approval yesterday, with several lawmakers reversing their antigambling votes of two years ago. The House Ways and Means Committee voted, 18-6, to endorse the plan sanctioning two resort casinos and 750 slot machines at each of the state’s two horse tracks and two former dog tracks. On Monday, the bill was approved by the Economic Development Committee on a 12-to-2 vote. The House is expected to begin debate on the proposal next week (State House News Service)."
Related: Memory Hole: Learning How to Make a Law in Massachusetts
Yup, they don't even know what is in it; better vote the way the speaker wants or there will be hell to pay.
Also see: Casinos Coming to Massachusetts
