Decisive reversal of ’08 defeat; prospects in Senate uncertain

By Michael Levenson
Globe Staff / April 15, 2010

The Massachusetts House yesterday embraced the largest expansion of gambling since the creation of the Lottery in 1971, approving legislation to establish two casinos in the state and up to 750 slot machines at each racetrack.

The lopsided, veto-proof 120-to-37 vote, a landmark moment in the long-running debate over casino gambling in the Bay State, followed a relentless campaign by House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, a track worker’s son who has two racetracks in his district. DeLeo succeeded in persuading many members who voted against casinos just two years ago to switch their votes.

Indeed, in 2008 House lawmakers overwhelmingly followed the lead of then-speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, a staunch gambling opponent, when they voted, 108 to 46, to kill Governor Deval Patrick’s bill to license three casinos.

Legislators who changed their votes yesterday said the slumping economy had persuaded them that casinos and slots represent a historic opportunity to create thousands of jobs and capture much of the estimated $1.1 billion that Massachusetts gamblers spend every year at casinos in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

“How can we in Massachusetts continue to watch money and people flow to other states?’’ said Representative James M. Murphy, a Weymouth Democrat who opposed casinos in 2008 but backed the bill yesterday. “In my opinion, we cannot.’’

Several also acknowledged that the speaker’s power to strip legislators of their chairmanships and influence drove them to back one of his top priorities.

“This is the bill he has cared about more than any other bill,’’ said Representative Ellen Story, an Amherst Democrat and member of the speaker’s leadership team, who voted for the bill after voting against casinos in 2008. “My sense is that there may well be consequences for people voting against this bill — particularly people in his inner circle.’’

Lawmakers hugged and cheered on the House floor when a beaming DeLeo announced the vote, after two days of impassioned debate over the benefits and dangers of casinos and slots. Outside the chamber, grinning casino lobbyists and union officials, having lost this fight several times before, rejoiced.

“We’re stuck in very difficult economic times, and this bill is not going be the end of all of our economic problems,’’ DeLeo declared to reporters afterward. “But on the other hand, it’s a good start. It’s a start to putting more people back to work. It’s a start to getting more local aid.’’

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future. Both Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray support casinos but not slots at the tracks, which they argue will not create many new jobs.

Senator Stanley Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat who is Murray’s point person on casinos, said it was too soon to predict the shape of the gambling legislation Senate leaders will craft. Senators plan to begin deliberations with a series of closed-door meetings later this month.

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“The debate is now fully engaged as the House completes their action,’’ Rosenberg said. “There will be a lot of pressure to move on the issue.’’

Critics warned of catastrophic consequences from the social ills associated with compulsive gambling. They warned that increases in domestic violence, foreclosures, suicides, and other problems would offset the predicted economic benefit of two casinos and as many as 3,000 slot machines.

Representative Carl M. Sciortino Jr., a Somerville Democrat, spoke of relatives who faced economic ruin and marital strife because of their addiction to gambling. He denounced the House for giving its “blessing to an industry whose sole mission is to strip people of their hard-earned money for nothing more than corporate profit and corporate greed.’’

“It’s not economic development,’’ he said. “It’s exploitation.’’

Representative Matthew C. Patrick, a Falmouth Democrat opposed to the bill, choked up as he recalled how his father, a World War II veteran and high school football coach, became addicted to betting on horses, forcing his mother to raise the family.

“Poverty is no fun,’’ Patrick said. “Using food stamps, getting hand-me-downs, phones turned off all the time . . . I want you to realize this has a real dramatic impact on families. It’s going to hurt families.’’

Opponents also predicted that casinos would destroy local businesses. Gamblers will flock to the betting parlors, but “they’re spending money that in the long run would be spent elsewhere,’’ said Representative Daniel E. Bosley, a North Adams Democrat and longtime opponent of expanded gambling.

Casinos may be fun, but they are the “worst form of investment you can make as economic policy,’’ Bosley said.

Opponents held out hope that the opposition the governor and Senate president have to slot machines will ultimately doom the bill. DeLeo yesterday predicted the issue will ultimately be resolved in a conference committee this summer, but neither side seems willing to budge.

Patrick’s spokeswoman, Kimberly Haberlin, last night released a statement reiterating the governor’s opposition to slots at the tracks.

“The governor has long believed the greatest potential for job growth and economic development from expanded gaming lies in destination resort casinos,’’ she said. “While his opposition to slots at the tracks has not changed, he looks forward to continuing to work with the Legislature on a bill that works for the whole Commonwealth.’’

Rosenberg stated the Senate’s nearly identical position. “If our goal is maximizing jobs and maximizing revenue and you want to compete with other states in the region, you want resort casinos,’’ he said. Adding slots may help save 674 jobs at the struggling tracks, but “they create very few jobs,’’ he said.

By engineering such a wide victory yesterday, DeLeo sent a message that the House could override a Patrick veto.

“I really feel very, very, very strongly about the need to keep the slots component in this bill because of the jobs factor,’’ said DeLeo, whose district includes Suffolk Downs and Wonderland Greyhound Park.

The speaker estimates the bill will create 15,000 jobs, but acknowledges only about 300 of those will be long-term jobs at the state’s four racetracks. He also says the bill will generate $260 million in licensing fees for the state and bring an estimated $300 million to $500 million in annual tax revenue.

Several lawmakers who voted against casinos in 2008 sought to explain why they backed this bill. One of them, Representative John V. Fernandes, a Milford Democrat, said he believed the current legislation was the safest way to regulate the gambling industry’s expansion.

“Despite all the discussion of the ills and good of the gaming industry, there is a certain inevitability to its march across America and into our Commonwealth, so the question for me was not whether, but when and how, because it’s coming our way,’’ he said.

Another lawmaker who switched positions, Representative Antonio Cabral, a New Bedford Democrat, said some members were probably influenced by the ascension of DeLeo as speaker. But for him, he said, “it’s a different bill, different time.’’

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.
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