By Ethan Forman
Staff writer
—
It appears many North Shore lawmakers are willing to roll the dice and support a bill to bring casino gambling to the Bay State in a bid to boost the state's sluggish economy and create thousands of casino and construction jobs.
"I'll definitely support it," said state Rep. Joyce Spiliotis, D-Peabody. "I think it's a win-win for the state in terms of creating jobs and because all of that money has been going out of state" to resort casinos in Connecticut.
"We certainly could use the revenues in Massachusetts," she said.
The gambling proposal that legislative leaders unveiled Tuesday would allow for three casinos in three regions of the state: western Massachusetts, the Boston area and southeastern Massachusetts. The bill also makes way for a slots parlor. Legislative leaders estimate that the casinos and slots would put 16,000 people to work, creating 6,000 temporary construction jobs, 7,000 full-time jobs and 3,000 jobs in ancillary industries.
All of the gambling facilities would be competitively bid, in a switch from similar legislation that died last year when Gov. Deval Patrick insisted the slot parlors be open to qualified bidders, and not simply to the state's four racetracks. Racetracks that win the slots parlor contract would have to maintain their racing and simulcasting.
"I'm OK with that," said state Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich.
This latest gaming bill is similar to the one Hill and other lawmakers said they fielded last year, but which ultimately died as state leaders failed to compromise on key sticking points, such as who should get the slots.
"Overall, from what I'm hearing and reading, it's a good bill and one I would like to support," Hill said.
What Hill and House Minority Leader Brad Jones objected to was what they said was a lack of transparency on how the bill came about.
Jones, a strong proponent of expanding gaming whose district includes Middleton, said in a statement that he was troubled by the process after hearing about the proposal from the media rather than from his fellow lawmakers, but he was "hopeful that the process going forward will make up for the shortcomings of the process thus far."
There have been plenty of hearings and debate on past casino bills, Hill said, "but the public at large would like to have some say, as well."
"I was proud of the fact we released it (on Tuesday)," said state Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers, yesterday. Doing so before Labor Day will give the bill a chance to go through the normal legislative process.
"I've been supportive," said Speliotis, who said that while he does not like the idea of bringing casinos to Massachusetts, he said the widespread ability for residents to play the lottery shows gambling is here to stay.
"There is not a house in Massachusetts (where) you can't walk to a scratch ticket," Speliotis said. "If government has set that up for the government to say casinos are a negative impact ... that is pretty hypocritical."
While casino gambling may hurt lottery sales, there are many in the state frustrated when they see gambling dollars being spent outside the state.
The bill came about, Speliotis said, because of weekly meetings among Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, Senate President Therese Murray and Patrick, a practice that dates back to the days of Gov. Bill Weld and the economic crisis in the early 1990s. A lack of consensus among the three, especially over the creation of racetrack slots parlors, led to the demise of the gambling bill last year.
Spiliotis said that without compromise, the bill might have suffered a similar fate this year.
"We have had enough hearings," said state Rep. John Keenan, D-Salem.
He said casinos would help boost tourism.
"I'm supportive," Keenan said. "I have to say I haven't read the bill, but I read the summary, and it seems to be similar to the one we did last year."
Keenan said the bill will support both permanent and temporary construction jobs, with many local construction trades hurting for work.
"The minimal investment is $500 million," Keenan said. "That is a significant amount of construction jobs."
State Rep. Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, said she was still digesting the 150-page bill and spoke about infrastructure and societal impacts of casinos. She would not say how she would vote until she read the bill.
"The positive aspects of jobs, revenue and economic development are compelling as long as roads are improved and social costs are addressed," Ehrlich said.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at eforman@salemnews.com or on Twitter @DanverSalemNews.
