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March 29, 2006

Mass. House speaker: Slots at racetracks a non-starter this year

BOSTON -- House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi said today that a proposal to install slot machines at the state's four racetracks likely won't pass the House this year.

Speaking at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, DiMasi said there's no real momentum for the bill, despite being approved overwhelmingly by the state Senate.

"My prediction is, I don't think it's going to pass," DiMasi said. "I don't think the support's there that people think there is."

Even if the bill does pass, DiMasi said it doesn't have the support of two-thirds of the Legislature, which would be needed to override an expected veto by Gov. Mitt Romney.

The bill would let each of the state's four racetracks install up to 2,000 slot machines.

In Rhode Island, gamblers can play video slots at two locations -- the Lincoln Park dog-racing facility in Lincoln and Newport Grand in Newport.

A study issued last week by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth's Center for Policy Analysis said the most of the patrons at those two locales are from Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

It warned that Bay State gamblers would quickly switch their allegiance to the Massachusetts tracks, if slots were added there.

If that happens, Rhode Island could lose much of the $100-million plus that these Massachusetts gamblers contribute annually to Rhode Island's heavily gambling-dependent economy.

-- With Journal archival reports

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 3:06 PM | Permalink