Sep 4, 2007 7:33 pm US/Eastern
Patrick Takes More Time To Decide On Casino Issue
BOSTON (AP) ―
Gov. Deval Patrick, who spent most of August on vacation, said Tuesday he needs about two more weeks to decide whether he supports casino gambling in Massachusetts.
Patrick, whose support is key for two Indian tribes that are seeking to build resort casinos, said he finished reading an internal report on expanded gambling, but still wants more time.
"Give me a couple of weeks. I'm very close," he said after a Statehouse event. "I'm not trying to be cute. There are some more people I want to talk to. There's a little bit more I want to read."
Earlier this year, Patrick had indicated he'd decide by Labor Day. The governor said the recent leadership turmoil in the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe didn't cause the delay in his decision.
"I'm obviously concerned about and sensitive to leadership issues at the tribe, but that's quite independent of what I have to decide," he said.
Shawn Hendricks has replaced Glenn Marshall as chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoags after Marshall acknowledged that he lied to Congress about his military record, and that he was convicted of rape in 1981.
The Mashpee Wampanoags want to build a $1 billion casino in Middleborough. The Aquinnah Wampanoag Indians have declared that they'll seek to open a casino if their Mashpee counterparts do the same.
Patrick also defended his extended vacation at his summer home in Richmond, located on the New York border.
"It was definitely a working vacation," he said, rattling off a list of items including signing 27 bills into law, attending four funerals for fallen service members, working on auto insurance reform, studying the gambling issue, and participating in morning briefings.
On the other hand, he caught up on some sleep.
"I also had an afternoon nap most days, which was great, and I went to a number of the cultural performances out in the Berkshires, which is one of the reasons we love the Berkshires as much as we do," he said.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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