Track slot machine bill appears dead
Lawmakers at odds over fate of gambling measure Proposal caught in House-Senate procedural dispute
Like the governor's plan before it, a proposal to install slot machines at the state's racetracks appears to have died for this year, a victim of a procedural dispute.
Representative David L. Flynn, a Bridgewater Democrat who was spearheading the effort, conceded defeat yesterday afternoon on legislation that would have allowed each of the state's four racetracks to install 2,000 slot machines, a plan that proponents said would have generated up to $500 million.
The bill had been considered a long shot, at best, this year, but Flynn had been expecting at least a House floor debate. He acknowledged it was dead just hours after House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said the bill was "in limbo."
"It's very disappointing," said Representative Richard J. Ross, a Wrentham Republican whose district includes Plainridge Racecourse. "We're giving up a big chunk of change."
The bill appears to have died in a disagreement over which committee should consider it. The Senate wanted the bill to go to the Consumer Protection Committee, while the House sent it to the Committee on Emerging Technologies and Economic Development.
Flynn immediately blamed the Senate, singling out Senate President Therese Murray, rather than DiMasi, who had previously promised Flynn to allow the issue to come to the House floor for debate.
"You can't have a hearing on a bill that the Senate has refused to admit," Flynn said in a statement. "But that's OK. I'm going to refile this and have it ready for the '09-'10 session. And by that time I think it is going to be manifestly clear that the financial crisis our state, cities, and towns are now facing has grown exponentially worse."
Murray shot back that the Senate was not the culprit in the measure's demise.
"It is unfortunate that Representative Flynn would make such an accusation," Murray said through her spokesman. "It couldn't be further from the truth. He either misunderstands or has been misinformed."
Track owners had been quietly laying the groundwork for the debate, sending letters this week to all legislators and officials in all 351 cities and towns. The letters detailed how much money local officials would receive if the legislation is approved, and plays up the amount of budget cuts cities and towns are going through.
But there were several major hurdles, including little support from gambling backers who wanted full-blown resort casinos. There are also growing questions about demand for gambling in New England and whether it has reached a pinnacle. Twin River, a lavish slot palace operating at a dog track in Lincoln, R.I., is struggling to remain solvent after an expensive expansion and earlier this month asked state officials for help.
The owners of Twin River want to drastically reduce the percentage of casino proceeds it gives to Rhode Island, from 61 percent to 25 percent. Twin River would give the state a one-time payment of $560 million as part of the deal, but the state would lose money in the long run.
A Twin River spokeswoman has called the situation dire and said the track may have to consider bankruptcy if the state doesn't agree to change its contract.
Connecticut casinos, long cited as some of the most successful in the world, have also suffered declining slot revenues.
Slot machine revenues at the two casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, were down 4 percent from July 2007 to May 2008, compared to the same 11-month period a year earlier, according to the Connecticut Division of Special Revenue.
Two of the partners who bought Lincoln Park in 2005 and rejuvenated it as Twin River, Len Wolman and Sol Kerzner, have joined with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to push plans for a casino in Middleborough.
Tribe officials say they are not worried about the financial woes of Wolman and Kerzner, who also own several ailing racetracks in Colorado, and would look for additional financial backers if they were unable to finance the $1 billion casino in Massachusetts.
"It's not a concern to the tribe," said Scott Ferson, a spokesman for the tribe. "It's a deal that stands on its own, and the tribe will be the owner and operator of the facility."
Governor Deval Patrick filed legislation last year that would have licensed three casinos in Massachusetts, which he said would create 20,000 permanent jobs and at least $400 million in annual revenue for the state.
While the legislation gained strong support from unions, it was opposed by DiMasi and it did not get a favorable vote from a key legislative committee. Gambling supporters in the House said DiMasi agreed to allow track supporters to bring a slots bill to the floor later in the session. His commitment diverted support from the governor's casino bill, with supporters hoping to bring lucrative slot machines to tracks in their districts in the place of casinos.
"That's actually in limbo right now," DiMasi told reporters yesterday, when asked about the slots legislation. He said it would come to the House for debate only if they can figure out which committee to send the bill to.
Shortly after DiMasi's comments, Flynn issued his statement conceding defeat.
But while any gambling expansion appears unlikely this year, all sides have eyes on the next legislative session, which starts in January.
When the governor was asked this week whether he plans to refile his casino legislation - and tie its proceeds to funding his education initiative - he smiled broadly but would give no further indication of his intentions.
"Everything is on the table," he said.
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.
