From yesterday’s Jim O’Sullivan SHNS article:
One theory cropping up among senior legislators and lobbyists is that DeLeo, if he cannot muster a veto-proof majority, could wait for Patrick to send back a slots veto – a move that could benefit Patrick among the progressive base that has frowned on “convenience gambling” even as it clamors for increased funds for state services. Or, if slots don’t clear the House-Senate compromise panel, DeLeo could be forced to act earlier.The speaker could then propose, according to this scenario, a way to preserve jobs at the tracks without granting slot machines: by supplementing their existing live racing and simulcast betting purses with cuts from the new tax base created by casino revenues.
As crazy as this idea is, and as hard as it should be smacked down, don’t anyone get too rabid in their responses. In reality, it’s no different than the Speaker’s ‘who-know’s-what’s-really-in-there, because-he-ain’t-revealing-it-yet’ slot proposal, which would guarantee race tracks, both current and former, non-competitive licenses to become slot parlors. Both scenarios are something-for-nothing bailouts of the two huge special interests sitting in his district, Wonderland and Suffolk Downs, which would eat at any potential revenues the state could gain, be it through the licensing process or yearly tax revenues, never mind addressing the costs.
No wonder the Speaker’s ardently opposed to a comprehensive, independent cost-benefits analysis.
More on my thoughts here. It’s time for leaders to tell the truth about slots and casinos — and it’s well past the time for them to start looking out for the actual interests of Commonwealth citizens, not special interests pouring millions of lobbyist dollars into the state every year.
Update: Finally, the plans have been released, and they’re predictably bad (really, any slot track proposal is bad, so we knew that much ahead of time — it was just that the details were hidden for a long time). The bottom line for state representatives in the House is this: they have to ask themselves whether they want to help DeLeo’s special interests inside his district, or if they want to make a grown-up decision that’s going to be good for the entire state. If they want to do that, they need to support an independent, comprehensive cost-benefits analysis before they vote on any slot proposal.