By Paul Tuthill
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Boston, MA – A bill that would legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts has passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate today and gone to the desk of Governor Deval Patrick, who is expected to sign it.. WAMC"s Paul Tuthill reports.
Passage of the bill that authorizes up to three resort style casinos, and one establishment with only slot parlors, seemingly resolves an issue that has periodically dominated Beacon Hill for the better part of two decades. This time, all the stars aligned for casino proponents, according to State Senator Richard Ross..one of the six members of the conference committee that crafted the final legislation.
Assuming everything stays on track , the casinos could open in Massachusetts in three years.
The bill establishes a bidding process for the casino licenses, a local referendum requirement for a host community, and a five member commission to oversee the new casino industry. Its members are appointed by the governor, state treasurer and attorney general.
The legislation also spells out how the casino revenue pie..estimated at 400 million dollars a year.. is carved up, with money dedicated to local aid, higher education, health care reform, and tourism. A share also goes to help the state's struggling horse race industry and to gambling addiction programs.
The final bill did away with a provision that would have permitted restaurants and bars in Massachusetts to offer free drinks to customers just as the casinos will be permitted to. The bill imposes a one year cooling off period before a legislator, or other government official in a policy making position, could go to work for a casino.
Despite successful established casinos in Connecticut and Rhode Island, Massachusetts, because of its population and its disposable income, is positioned to eventually dominate the New England gaming market, according to Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at UMass Dartmouth.
The bill authorizes one resort casino in each of three geographic areas, a southeastern region,including Cape Cod and the Islands, an eastern region that takes in both Boston and Worcester and the region that consists of the four western most counties.
The Mohegan Sun Tribal Gaming Authority, has been laying the ground work for at least two years to develop a casino in Palmer on a hilltop just off an exit from the MassPike. Palmer Town Council President Paul Burns says now its time to get serious with an impact study, and a memorandum of understanding between the town and would be casino developer.
Developers hoping to build a casino on a golf course next to Interstate 91 in Holyoke say they are going ahead despite opposition to the project by the city's mayor-elect.