Massachusetts gaming in limbo amid dispute over provisions in bill

Tuesday, August 3, 2010  

Lawmakers in Massachusetts agreed on a gaming bill over the weekend but Gov. Deval Patrick (D) said he wouldn't sign it and sent back an amended version.

The bill authorizes three casino resorts and two slot parlors at existing racetracks. Patrick opposes the slot parlors and took them out in his amended version.

The bill also attempts to dictate the terms of a tribal-state gaming compact. It limits the state to one compact -- presumably with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, whose plans call for a casino in the city of Fall River.

"Because of the Mashpee Wompanoag tribe, when they get their land and trust, they're going to open up gaming, whether the state says they're going to or not," state Sen. Stan Rosenberg (D) told WWLP-TV.

The tribe is reportedly amending its pending land-into-trust application to cover the site in Fall River.

Get the Story:
Flanagan holding out hope for a casino compromise (The Fall River Herald News 8/3)
Patrick sends amended casino bill back to Legislature (The Fall River Herald News 8/3)
Mass. Governor Rejects Casino Bill, Giving Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun A Reprieve (The Hartford Courant 8/3)
Battle to save the casino bill (WWLP-TV 8/3)