House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi stepped up his attacks yesterday on Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to license three resort casinos in Massachusetts, accusing the governor and his staff of failing to do their homework and calling Patrick's prediction that it would generate 30,000 new construction jobs "absurd."
The unusually harsh critique from DiMasi, who until now has said only that he was skeptical of Patrick's plan, signaled that the speaker is preparing for a no-holds-barred fight as the House plans hearings on the governor's proposal.
"The governor's arguments for casinos are clearly losing credibility," DiMasi said in a written statement.
DiMasi was reacting to a report published in Sunday's Globe that detailed how Patrick's prediction of 30,000 new construction jobs, 10,000 each from three $1 billion casinos, rested solely on a gambling industry estimate and appeared excessively optimistic.
The report said that just 2,600 new construction jobs have been generated by the $1.5 billion expansion of two casinos in Connecticut. The story also quoted an independent financial analyst who said that 4,000 to 5,000 new construction jobs appeared more reasonable for three casinos statewide.
Although his administration defended its estimate, Patrick downplayed the significance of the figure, even though he cited it as evidence of gambling's economic benefits in his State of the State speech Jan. 24.
"There are going to be all kinds of claims about whether it's 30,000 construction jobs or 20,000 construction jobs or 5,000 con struction jobs," he said. "I can tell you that whatever the number is, it beats the opposition, which is zero."
Later in the day, answering reporters' questions a second time, Patrick responded to DiMasi's broadside by saying he would continue trying to persuade individual House members of the merits of casinos.
"He is making a lot of noises that sound like he has made up his own mind," Patrick said of DiMasi. "But there are a lot of other members in the body. They are entitled to a point of view."
DiMasi's salvo was clearly a blow to casino supporters in the House, who have been waging an uphill battle. An informal Globe survey of House members last week indicated that more than a third of representatives remain undecided and that negative votes outnumber the positive by a significant margin.
"It's frustrating," said Representative Brian Wallace, a Boston Democrat who has been marshaling votes in favor of casinos. "We are changing votes, we are convincing people on the merits, but a lot of people aren't to going to stand up because of these statements. [DiMasi] is a very, very powerful guy."
Senate President Therese Murray, who is generally in favor of casinos, declined to comment yesterday. But Senator Michael Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat who supports gaming, said that DiMasi was trying to change the focus of the casino debate and "play a little offense."
"Even if we say the governor was a little overoptimistic, what about 20,000 jobs?," said state Senator Michael W. Morrissey. "That's not exactly small potatoes. That's a lot of jobs. It's good for the state. Good for the economy."
But DiMasi suggested that Patrick was losing ground with legislators, who must approve the plan for it to forward.
"The governor clearly has the burden of convincing the Legislature that this casino plan should be adopted," DiMasi said. "So far, the case has not been made. . . . The evidence isn't there."
DiMasi highlighted another aspect of the Globe story, the source of the 30,000 estimate. Patrick's administration has acknowledged that the source was Suffolk Downs, a major player in the state's horse and dog track gambling industry and a would-be bidder for a casino license.
Suffolk Downs asserted it would generate 10,000 construction jobs on a $1 billion casino in East Boston in a report submitted to Daniel O'Connell, the state economic development secretary, who is shepherding the casino proposal for Patrick. The administration then multiplied that estimate by three, for three casinos, to come up with 30,000, according to a written reply to Globe questions by O'Connell's office.
"The fact that those figures were taken from Suffolk Downs, a casino advocate, at face value and simply multiplied by three [makes] the argument . . . even more questionable," the DiMasi statement said. "As of today, it seems like we have a proposal where no tough questions were even asked, let alone answered."
DiMasi has come under fire himself and is the subject of an ethics complaint filed by the state Republican Party for playing golf in Florida with a top Suffolk Downs executive, Joseph O'Donnell, while the track was vying for a casino. DiMasi has said that he did nothing wrong and that, in fact, he should be lauded for turning down a golf invitation from casino mogul Donald Trump.
Suffolk Downs responded to DiMasi's broadside yesterday by issuing a statement from its chairman, Bill Mulrow. Mulrow said Suffolk Downs gathered input from multiple parties to develop the construction jobs estimate it gave to the Patrick administration. Mulrow suggested the 10,000 figure took into account work that would be performed over multiple years and in multiple phases.
"We consulted with gaming, finance, and construction experts in our projections,' the statement said. "It is clear that there are different methodologies. . . . Regardless of which projections are used, the economic benefits jobs, revenue, and increased tourism are compelling."
O'Connell stood by the state's estimates and methodology. He said DiMasi neglected to mention other important aspects of the plan, including 20,000 permanent casino resort jobs. O'Connell's office has not performed independent studies, but last month hired Spectrum Gaming Group of New Jersey to analyze financial benefits and the job creation potential of Patrick's plan.
The proposal calls for inviting casino developers to bid for three licenses, one in Metropolitan Boston, one in Southeast Massachusetts, and one in Western Massachusetts. Patrick believes the state can raise about $200 million to $300 million in license fees, which are to have 10-year terms, for each casino. In addition, he believes the state will receive up to $400 million in total annual gambling proceeds from the three facilities.
Andrew Ryan and Andrea Estes of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
rising
falling 