Deal 'em!
"Debate on use of US funds could revive casino talks; Legislature may be compelled to reconvene" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | August 6, 2010
Like Wile E. Coyote, the gambling bill just will not die.
Days after the measure appeared to be legislative roadkill, some Beacon Hill lawmakers are discussing ways to revive it, now that the Legislature appears likely to return to formal session to spend an unrelated infusion of federal Medicaid and education money.
Related: U.S. Senate Trying to Save Own Skins
One House member, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, said the possibility has been raised that lawmakers would come back and debate both measures.
“There is discussion on whether or not a roll-call vote is required to authorize that funding,’’ the lawmaker said. “If there is a roll-call vote, required under a special session, there is discussion about whether to bring up’’ the gambling bill.
The end of formal sessions on Saturday had been widely seen as the end of protracted negotiations on the controversial gambling measure, as lawmakers headed home to their districts to focus on campaigning for reelection.
But the Legislature, which does not meet in formal session again until January, could be forced to return to approve $655 million in anticipated federal funding, if, as threatened, Republicans on Beacon Hill try to block the new spending. Once lawmakers return to formal session to debate the federal money, gambling proponents say, they would have yet another shot at coming to an agreement with Governor Deval Patrick....
Just the way a compulsive gambler would feel.
Another supporter of casinos, House minority leader Bradley H. Jones Jr., said a deal on gambling remained a distinct possibility. “For what would normally be a quiet week after session, there’s a lot more life than usual,’’ said the North Reading Republican.
Yeah, they tell you they are going home and keep the place running.
What a bunch of liars.
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray have said that coming back to debate gambling is doubtful, but they have not commented on whether they would call lawmakers back to approve the federal money. A session, if it happens, would not happen imminently, in part because many legislators are away on vacation....
It must be a qualification to get into the building.
The Legislature is currently meeting in informal sessions....
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"Patrick’s stand on casinos a gamble; Amending bill keeps issue in play, may pay off in fall" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | August 2, 2010
As the casino resorts he once championed teetered closer to defeat yesterday, Governor Deval Patrick was walking a tightrope between two important parts of his base: liberals, many of whom were horrified at the prospect of casino gambling in the state; and labor unions, which view resort casinos as a major source of new jobs.
If the impasse continues, Patrick is better positioned to cobble together support in the fall election, according to several political analysts, because he blocked slots at racetracks — which gambling opponents decry as particularly corrosive — and can argue to unions that he advocated for job-creating casinos.
Oh, so it is ALL POLITICAL MANEUVERING, huh?
PFFFFFFTTT!!!
Patrick’s posture carries risks, however. Organized labor may yet hold him accountable for the demise of a bill unions dearly wanted, and liberal opponents of casinos may not forgive him for proposing them in the first place. Plus, the monthslong debate over gambling has given ammunition to Republicans, who say he has failed to grapple with far more important economic challenges facing Massachusetts....
The casino gambling bill, which won overwhelming support from state lawmakers Saturday in the waning hours of the legislative session, remained in a kind of limbo yesterday....
The legislative session expired for the year on Saturday night and House and Senate leaders have said they would not call lawmakers back in....
But Senate President Therese Murray suggested another solution yesterday, saying that Patrick could safely sign the bill as is, because of a clause that she says gives him the power to block slot parlors at racetracks. She said the Legislature specifically put the decision as to whether tracks would have slots in the hands of the state commission that would be created to govern expanded gambling....
Then WHAT is the BIG WHO-HA?
I'll bet he signs it before election day!
The expansion of gambling has long put Patrick between the liberal wing of the party and labor. Both factions have been central to the Democratic party’s success in statewide elections for decades. One consists of the reform-minded political community that evaluates candidates on issues such as gay marriage, campaign finance, and social justice.
As if that is all they care about.
The other is made up of blue collar, union voters who look to Beacon Hill for support on issues and programs that directly affect their paychecks: laws and regulations that essentially limit state construction projects to union labor, the setting of wage levels, and the management of unemployment benefits.
Yeah, no one cares about the overall economy, the nation, or the wars.
I guess that's why illegal immigrants are such a hot issue in this sanctuary state.
Patrick strategists, who did not want to talk on the record, are counting on liberals, in the end, being with him on Election Day.
That is where you ALWAYS GET IT, liberals -- in the end! From health care to the wars and everything in between.
With the casino debate off the table, that seems probable. As for labor, they realize Patrick will be the target of much of their anger. But they note that labor has always been lukewarm to Patrick and did not play a significant role in his landslide victory four years ago.
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!
He just CUT YOU LOOSE, too, LABOR!!!
More posturing:
"Patrick rescinds compromise offer; Sends casino measure back to Legislature without any provision to allow slot parlors" by Andrew Ryan and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | August 3, 2010
Senate President Therese Murray has said she will not call her members back into formal session. That would leave the effort to expand gambling in limbo, effectively killing the measure and ending, for now, one of the most significant political struggles on Beacon Hill since the battle over same-sex marriage.
PFFFFFT!!
“This decision has the same practical effect as a veto,’’ House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said yesterday, placing the blame squarely on Governor Deval Patrick....
Opponents of expanded gambling greeted the developments with guarded optimism....
I greeted it with deep skepticism. Consider the source.
Labor leaders largely declined to discuss the power struggle yesterday and avoided picking sides, signifying that they held out hope a deal could still emerge. Robert J. Haynes, president of the state AFL-CIO, issued a statement urging both sides to stop squabbling and “come together.’’
Either he knows something or he doesn't care about the governor dumping all over him.
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But this guy did:
"For DeLeo, much rides on casino showdown" by Noah Bierman and Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | August 3, 2010
The gambling bill remained at an impasse yesterday....
Patrick sent the bill back to the Legislature yesterday stripped of language that would have allotted slot machines to two of the four racetracks. The only way the bill can advance now is if the Legislature, which finished its business for the year on Saturday, comes back into special session, a step leaders have said they are loathe to take....
I'm loathing the lying, folks.
One Senate official said that DeLeo’s position became increasingly intractable and that the normally affable speaker has shown a different side during the gambling debate.
Yeah, it's amazing what $ome thing$ will do to people.
There is debate among Beacon Hill insiders over who would be to blame if gambling ultimately fails.
Then WHY did the agenda-pushing Globe make it seem like it WAS DEAD?
Many believe that Patrick could also pay a political price. While the defeat of a gambling bill could ultimately sit well with liberals in his political base, it will also anger labor unions, which have been a traditional Democratic constituency....
WHO CARES?
Patrick cut them loose above because they were not important to his victory!
What a CROCK of BS!
So WHAT CHANGED in the last two days, Glob?
Exactly what he loses is not certain. So much of power on Beacon Hill is about perception, and the way a loss is treated can be almost as important as a victory....
And that is the AGENDA-PUSHING NEWSPAPER'S JOB to MANAGE!
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More BS:
"No more compromise on slots, DeLeo says; Override vote called unlikely" by Frank Phillips and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | August 4, 2010
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said yesterday that he will make no further compromises to save a bill to expand gambling in Massachusetts and is doubtful that the Legislature will return to override Governor Deval Patrick’s rejection of the controversial measure.
Just MANAGING the IMAGE!
While DeLeo said he still plans to explore the possibility of calling legislators back into session to revive the bill, he said a deal this year was unlikely.
The speaker’s comments, together with the Senate president’s pessimism yesterday about reaching a resolution, give the strongest indication yet that the movement to bring casinos and perhaps slot machine parlors to the Bay State, despite progressing further than it ever has, will again fall short.
Uh-huh!
“I like to keep out hope, but at this point, I can’t say I’m optimistic,’’ DeLeo said in an interview with Globe reporters.
Senate President Therese Murray said separately yesterday, “I don’t see how it can be salvaged,’’ State House News Service reported. “We’ve exhausted our possibilities of keeping it alive.’’
How do you like the DECEPTION and DECEIT, readers?
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They sure are good card players, huh?
Now for tho$e with the clout (who do you think is supplying the chips?):
"For builders, workers, towns, casino loss stings" by Casey Ross, Globe Staff | August 5, 2010
Don't worry; it won't for long.
The failure to pass an expanded gambling bill has left its supporters seething.
Welcome to the club; doesn't feel to good, does it?
There are the frustrated developers who must now shelve multimillion-dollar building plans and hope for success in the next legislative session.
Maybe not.
There are the municipal officials across the state who were counting on those developments for new jobs and tax revenue.
Then it will get done.
This IS Massachusetts after all.
And then there are people like Robert Young, a landscaper in Palmer who wanted a casino to enliven the local business climate and can’t believe the legislation fell through again.
Even though we don't want them here.
“The leaders of state government ought to be ashamed of themselves,’’ said Young, a member of a Palmer business group that lobbied for a casino there. “They all agreed on 99 percent of the bill, and then they let their egos get in the way.’’
He folded!
He bought the bull.
Fallout from the collapsed negotiations was immediate and emotional yesterday, with labor unions and community leaders accusing Governor Deval Patrick and legislative leaders of fumbling a chance to create badly needed economic activity.
“My members are unbelievably disappointed and angry,’’ said Mark Erlich, executive secretary of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters....
Nationwide, casino legislation has often proved difficult to pass.
Because people know what a bunch of leeches they are.
In Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, expanded gambling bills and referendums have repeatedly failed before winning approval....
Related:
“What is it about democracy that these groups don’t understand?’’
I don't know.
But some analysts said the delay could cost the state, making it miss a critical window of opportunity.
I think I will go all in.
The regional market threatens to become increasingly crowded despite the struggling fortunes of some casinos, including Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Connecticut, where revenue fell during the recession.
Yeah, turns out it is NOT the GOLDEN GOOSE they told you it was!
Proposals to open gambling facilities in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine — potential competitors for Massachusetts — are being considered.
“You do reduce your competitiveness by coming in later,’’ said Clyde Barrow, a University of Massachusetts Dartmouth professor who tracks the gambling industry. “You end up with more casinos in the same market, and the size of the casinos you could site would be scaled back considerably.’’
State Senator Stanley Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat who led efforts to craft the Senate’s gambling legislation, said he worries that the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe will build a gambling hall in Southeastern Massachusetts before the state establishes regulations.
“I’ve always thought the big issue is that the Wampanoag tribe could gain the ability to open a facility with electronic bingo machines, basically a slots parlor,’’ Rosenberg said, noting that federal law gives tribes the right to offer whatever level of gambling is already legal in the state. In Massachusetts, that means the tribe could offer electronic bingo, but could not open a full-scale casino with table games. However, the tribe has not yet put land into federal trust, a necessary step to open a casino on sovereign land.
Most casino supporters agree the failure of this year’s legislation forfeits an opportunity to generate jobs and tax revenues when communities are most in need....
Is GAMBLING a WINNING PROPOSITION for you, taxpayers?
The effects were quickly felt at the two racetracks that hoped the bill would allow them to install slot machines. Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville laid off 160 track workers Tuesday , and a spokesperson for Raynham Park in Raynham said the former dog track is suspending plans to rehire 400 laid-off workers.
It's called putting the pressure on.
Some casino developers said they were disappointed the governor and legislators couldn’t reach a compromise when the bill was closer to being passed than ever before.
Don't worry, they are coming back!
“It’s sad that it didn’t get done when you have all three leaders who agree it should pass, but then can’t agree on the final form,’’ said David Nunes, a developer who has proposed a casino complex in Milford.
That's sad with a capital $!
He and other developers said, however, that they will continue to pursue their plans to build in Massachusetts, and they expect legislation will eventually pass.
So ALL THIS BG PRINT and PRESS is basically a BULLS*** BLUFF!!
“We’re as committed as we’ve ever been,’’ said Andrew Stern, managing director of KG Urban Enterprises, which is proposing a casino in New Bedford....
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Aww, I'm busted!
I can't play poker with the Globe no more!
- Boston Globe Says Everyone is a Winner at Casinos
- State House Pulling Out All Stops For Slots
- Gamblers Dealing Mass. Democrats Dollar$
- DeLeo and His Dad
- Casino Comparisons: Connecticut's Foxwoods Failure
- Casino Comparisons: Rhode Island's Red Ink
- Casino Comparisons: The Maine Message
- Casino Comparisons: Out of Luck in Ohio
- Casino Comparisons: California Crash
- Casino Comparisons: All In in Iowa
- Casino Comparisons: Hawaiian Hiatus
- Wampanoags Welch Out on Casino Deal
- Milford Makes Its Move
- The Palmer Protests
- Last Race at Raynham
- Wonderland Loses Its Luster
- Against All Odds: Developers Double Down
- Against All Odds: Senate Sleight of Hand
- Against All Odds: The Story of How the House Passed Casinos
- Against All Odds: Winners and Losers
- Against All Odds: Highs, Lows, and Lies
