Massachusetts to go ahead with gambling study
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Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has said a $189,000 study on the possible impact of casinos in the commonwealth will still be conducted — even though the state legislature has tabled a bill that would have licensed three casinos in Massachusetts.
The bill, which would have also banned online gambling in Massachusetts, will not come to a vote again until next year.
According to pokerpages.com:
Spectrum Gaming Group of New Jersey won the state contract late February and has been working on the analysis for the past month. It was expected to complete the analysis 60 to 90 days after winning the contract.
The Patrick administration brought on the consultant to help sell the casino plan after critics questioned the validity of the governor’s estimates on revenue and jobs. Gov. Patrick had predicted his three-casino plan would raise more than $400 million annually for property tax relief and construction projects and create 20,000 permanent jobs. The administration backtracked on a claim of 30,000 construction jobs this month after the number was questioned by The Boston Globe. The governor testified last week it would create more than 10,000 construction jobs.
Spectrum Gaming was not involved in committee hearings and debate in the Massachusetts legislature last week before the bill was tabled.
