House rejects demand for hearing on gambling bill

Representative Daniel E. Bosley, a North Adams Democrat and staunch opponent of expanded gambling, said a hearing should be held on a bill that will create “generational change in our economy, the importance of which cannot be overemphasized.”

No one spoke in opposition to Callahan’s motion, but it was still defeated. DeLeo has argued in the past there is no need for a hearing on his bill because lawmakers this fall held hearings on other gambling-related bills and the issue has been debated for decades on Beacon Hill.

When DeLeo announced the vote against a hearing this morning, some in the public gallery jeered, drawing a rebuke from the speaker, who asked for quiet.

Later, House lawmakers voted 136-17 to reject a proposal by Representative Rosemary Sandlin, an Agawam Democrat, to require that one of the casinos be built in Western Massachusetts.

The bill currently establishes a gambling commission to decide where the casinos will be located.

Sandlin argued that a casino would bring jobs to one of the most economically hard hit regions of the state and “create a new image of Western Massachusetts as a four-seasons destination” for corporate meetings and golf tournaments.

The plan received vocal support from several western Massachusetts lawmakers, who argued that the Legislature too often ignores the economic plight of communities west of Worcester.

“Western Massachusetts deserves a seat at the table,” said Representative Sean Curran, Democrat of Springfield.

DeLeo’s top lieutenant on the gambling bill, Representative Brian S. Dempsey, argued that the gambling market, not the Legislature, should decide the location of the casinos.

“It will be a grave mistake if we begin to be specific about any region of the Commonwealth that ought to have a casino,” said Dempsey, a Haverhill Democrat.