Aug 28, 2007 6:52 pm US/Eastern
Patrick Holds Out On Casino Announcement
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 is now ready to lay the groundwork for
casinos.
WBZ's Joe Shortsleeve reported on Thursday the governor was going to support casinos, but he's not ready to go public with that just yet. The administration is denying they have made a decision, but that's because this is a very complicated issue. It's considered un-chartered waters here in Massachusetts.
Sources tell Shortsleeve that Patrick has decided he wants some type of casino gambling. An official announcement is said to be a few weeks away.
It's the promise of hundreds of millions of dollars of new revenue that has Patrick ready to take a chance on
legalized gambling. Although the governor is technically on vacation, WBZ has learned he has decided to allow some type of casino gambling here.
"Here is a huge amount of work to be done in terms of putting what kind of casino gambling we are talking about, destinations, slots, how many, regulatory framework," said Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
Sources tell Shortsleeve the administration wants to take their time on rolling out an official plan because it is so complicated. Basically, they want to make sure they get it right, which means their plan won't be made public until mid-September.
House Minority Leader Brad Jones believes the lack of a public announcement by the administration actually says a lot. "Would think that if he is going to come down and say its something that we have looked at, its something that we shouldn't do, I would think that would have been an easier answer and it would have come earlier."
Now officially, Patrick Administration Spokesperson Joe Landolfi categorically denied WBZ's report. To that end, WBZ was told the Patrick administration does not have a definitive casino plan yet.
Sources tell Shortsleeve they have the made the decision to go down the casino road, however; they want to make this announcement on their own terms and their own timetable.
So what led to Patrick's decision? It's all about the money. Patrick needs lots of new revenue to fund honorable initiatives he's outlined -- like more full-day kindergarten and longer school days. And there is no appetite for new taxes on Beacon Hill, so gambling is a relatively easy way to tap into hundreds of millions of dollars without asking voters for a penny.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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