Lawmakers reviewing their push for casinos & slots
Lawmakers who want to expand legal gambling in Massachusetts are renewing their push for casinos and slot machines, saying the state needs to hold onto the gambled dollars they say are being lost to neighboring states.
A handful of gaming bills have already been filed for the new two-year legislative session that begins next month, and supporters are hoping a change in leadership in the Massachusetts House might give the legislation new momentum.
One of the bills, filed by Sen. Joan Menard, D-Fall River, would create two resort casinos - one in Bristol County and a second in Hampden or Worcester County - and allow slot machines at the state’s four racetracks.
The bill would create a new commission to oversee the casinos, place the slots under the control of the Lottery Commission and guarantee that revenues from the slot machines would make up any decline in lottery sales. Lottery profits are distributed to cities and towns as local aid.
Massachusetts can’t afford to watch casino and slot machine revenue continue to go into the coffers of neighboring states like Connecticut and Rhode Island, Menard said.
"Every year, millions of dollars from Massachusetts are going to the casinos outside of Massachusetts," she said. "It is time that we seriously discuss and consider this in Massachusetts."
Menard isn’t the only lawmaker to file gambling legislation. Rep. Robert Koczera, D-New Bedford, has filed similar legislation and Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, supports Menard’s bill and has filed two other bills, one that authorizes slot machines at racetracks and a second that allows the Raynham-Taunton track to simulcast and take bets on races from other states.
Pacheco said the state could bring in between $300 million and $500 million from the slots and up to an extra $1 billion from the slots and casinos combined.
He said the extra money is needed to help avoid cuts to vital state services like education, public safety and local aid to cities and towns.
"It would be fiscally irresponsible not to have a serious discussion about increasing gaming revenues in Massachusetts," Pacheco said. "We are still looking at close to a $1 billion structural deficit."
But foes of gambling say the irresponsible thing would be to allow expanded gambling in Massachusetts.
They argue casinos and slot machines are more trouble than they’re worth, and that the social and law-enforcement costs associated with expanded gambling outweigh any economic benefit.
"It’s really government’s way of taxing people without calling it a tax and that falls heaviest on the elderly and the poor," said Sen. Susan Tucker, D-Andover. "It’s essentially another way for government to get money out of people’s pockets, so let’s call it what it is."
One wild card in the debate is the new House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston. DiMasi replaces former House Speaker Thomas Finneran, a determined foe of gambling. DiMasi has been quiet on the issue, although he cast a vote in 1997 to kill a casino gambling proposal.
Senate President Robert Travaglini, D-Boston, has two racetracks in his district and has also kept a low profile on the issue, trying to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Gov. Mitt Romney, who in the past has supported the expansion of gaming, said he’s not holding his breath. He said his version of the state budget for the new fiscal year, set to be released early in 2005, won’t rely on any additional dollars from casinos or slot machines.
