Aug 27, 2007 11:38 pm US/Eastern
Gov. Patrick Will Recommend Casinos For Mass.
Patrick Is In Favor Of Some Form Of Casino Gambling
by Joe Shortsleeve
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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According to WBZ sources, Gov. Deval Patrick is in favor of some form of gambling.
CBS
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will recommend some type of
casino for the state, WBZ-TV's Joe Shortsleeve has learned.
The governor has made his decision after studying this issue for months. He has also been reviewing a report he commissioned, which outlines the pros and cons of legalized
gambling.
Sources tell WBZ-TV's Joe Shortsleeve that Patrick has now decided in favor of some form of gaming. Details are still being worked out, but there are three main reasons why he's doing this. You just have to follow the money being spent to fix our crumbling roads and bridges, expanding education with promises of full day kindergarten for everyone and free community colleges.
Patrick has a long wish list of what he wants to get done and none of it is cheap.
"I think there is a strong bias to try and get some additional revenues into the state coffers and fund some of the programs that he has put forward," said Michael Widmer of the
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
That's the first reason the governor is going to recommend legalized gambling -- he's hoping for a huge windfall, a jackpot in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Here's the second reason: That's money the governor can get his hands on and avoid a much tougher political move.
There is no movement to institute any increase in broad-based taxes, income and sales tax. That makes balancing the budget, even without new programs, a real challenge. That is especially true when you consider the third reason, according to House Minority Leader Brad Jones, lost revenue.
"Here's more and more evidence of how many dollars from Massachusetts are going to other venues out of state,
Mohegan Sun,
Foxwoods,
Lincoln… money that's being spent elsewhere could be better spent here with at least some benefit to the Commonwealth," Jones said.
Sources tell WBZ-TV that structuring legalized gambling in a piece of legislation and keeping it under control is very complicated -- more complicated than the administration originally thought. They want to make sure they get it right the first time.
So how many casinos, and where would they be? Assuming the House and Senate go along with it, many people ultimately expect the state to issue three casino licenses: one for the Mashpee Indians, one for the Aquinnah tribe and one for a private developer.
Ideally they would be spread out -- perhaps Boston, Middleboro and the western part of the state.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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