Thursday, March 15, 2007

In another sign that he is seriously considering casino gambling as a ready
source of cash for state government, Gov. Deval Patrick met separately
yesterday with groups of state legislators on both sides of the issue.
''He's really trying to get a handle on it and make some decisions and go
forward,'' Sen. Joan M. Menard, D-Fall River, said after gambling proponents
met with Patrick for an hour in his Statehouse office. ''I think he's
absolutely neutral.'' Menard has filed legislation that would allow a casino
in Bristol County and another casino in the western part of the state. The
pro-casino group that met with Patrick also included Kathi-Anne Reinstein,
D-Revere, Sen. Michael Morrissey, D-Quincy, and other legislators. Later,
Patrick met with gaming opponents, including Rep. Daniel Bosley, D-North
Adams, Rep. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, and other lawmakers. Patrick told
reporters that the meetings were informative, but that a decision was not
imminent. He laughed when asked whether he was closer to a decision after
meeting with the two groups of lawmakers. ''I'm glad we didn't have a fight
in there between the pro-gaming and the anti-gaming folks,'' he said.
''''¦Yes, I'm closer, but am I close? No, I'm not close yet.'' Daniel
O'Connell, Patrick's secretary of Housing and Economic Development, is
leading an administration task force that is studying the gaming issue.
O'Connell participated in yesterday's meetings.
As for the moral objections, Menard argued that the state already has
legalized gambling in the form of the state Lottery, which provides more
than $900 million a year in aid to cities and towns. ''My answer to that is
we are doing it on a large scale already,'' Menard said. Lawmakers said some
of the topics in the meeting included societal impacts of gambling, allowing
slot machines at the state's four race tracks, the effect on the state
Lottery, and the recent federal recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoag.
Massachusetts is trying to close a $1.3 billion shortfall in revenue to
maintain state services next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Bosley argued
to Patrick that gambling would not return the money the state is seeking,
given its negative effects on society and other forms of economic
development.
Bosley pointed to state budget problems over the years in Connecticut and
New Jersey, which allow casino gambling. ''Gambling has not been a panacea
in those states,'' Bosley said after the meeting. ''It will not be a panacea
here.'' Bosley and Menard both said Patrick discussed the emergence of the
state's second federally recognized tribe. The Mashpee Wampanoag, like the
Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Martha's Vineyard, will be
entitled under federal Indian gaming law to offer casinos or slot parlors if
they are allowed under state law. The Mashpee tribe is seeking a location
for an off-Cape casino. First, the tribe must find land in Southeastern
Massachusetts to be held in trust, and negotiate a gaming compact with state
government. Scott Ferson, a spokesman for the Mashpee Wampanoag, said in an
interview that the tribe continues to search for appropriate land to be held
in federal trust, not just for a casino, but for such needs as housing,
education and health care. The town of Middleboro recently pitched several
casino locations to the tribe.