Editorial: New gaming legislation a better bet for Massachusetts

Wednesday, August 24, 2011  

"A gambling bill unveiled on Beacon Hill yesterday could be the ticket to breaking the resort casino logjam we saw last year. The new bill would allow the state to license three resort casinos and one slot parlor. With the requirement that the licenses be granted through competitive bidding, legislative leaders and the governor may have found common ground.

Last year Gov. Deval Patrick balked at a proposal pushed by House Speaker Robert DeLeo that called for slot parlors at the state's struggling race tracks. Patrick and gambling opponents saw it as a thinly veiled bailout for track owners, but the new proposal spells out a competitive process in which the slot parlor license bidding would start at $25 million and casino license bidding at $85 million, with one casino contract set aside for a federally recognized Indian tribe.

Those who see resort casinos as guaranteed revenue for the state and a boost to the job market will applaud this new bill because the governor has indicated it's one he would likely support."

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Editorial: A better bet on gambling (The MetroWest Daily News 8/24)