...a former Clinton administration official, in the U.S. Department of Justice, is leaning toward legalization, aides said.
Speaking to journalists after attending a union Labor Day breakfast in Boston, Gov. Patrick dismissed the criticism that moving ahead with expanded gaming would "consume" his administration at the expense of other important projects.
"Reducing property taxes and adding 1,000 police officers aren't dependent on the anticipated millions in new revenues casino gambling would provide," said the governor.
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, a Native American clan, has purchased land in Middleborough, near Boston, and is planning to build a $1 billion casino there.
Complicated Decision
Gov. Patrick originally said he was planning to decide by indicated Labor Day, but now he needs more time to study the issues, which he said are as "complex as it gets."The legalization of gambling is a hot topic in the Bay State. U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has proposed eliminating federal restrictions on Internet gambling, imposed by Republicans in Congress and President Bush, in late 2006. Rep. Frank is seeking to ensure that poker and other games of skill are not covered by the law, and that limitations on use of credit cards for online gaming are lifted.
State legislators reckon Gov. Patrick will announce his support for casino gambling within days, and speculation indicates that as many as three casinos will be approved: One in Boston, another in southeastern Massachusetts for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and a third in western Massachusetts.
"I have not heard anything privately about what they intend to do, but I have a strong sense that Patrick will propose to go ahead with casinos," said Michael Widmer, president of the influential, business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
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The taxpayers foundation has worked with state leaders on such issues as health care, transportation needs, and corporate taxation.
"I think they wouldn't be taking all this time and so forth if they weren't looking at the details of what they are going to do,"Widmer said. "My sense is that he has largely decided to proceed, but not necessarily how many casinos and the regulatory structure and so forth."
Gov. Patrick's aides have described his summer sojourn as a "working vacation," much of it spent at his second home in the Berkshires. They say he has been in daily contact with advisers. He has also been reviewing briefing materials that were compiled this summer by his gaming study group.
The governor has kept his views on gambling closely guarded, leading many to believe he has shared them only with his inner circle of top advisers. The state Legislature has been in the dark.
The gambling rumors come "third- or fourth-hand," said Rep. Daniel Bosley (D-North Adams), the leading gambling critic in the House.
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