More Casino Bill Updates

Some meat on those shaky bones!

gaming: the dicey illusion

CASINO LICENSES WOULD COST
 $85 MILLION UNDER ACCORD

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By Jim O’Sullivan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
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STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JULY 30, 2010…..... A gambling bill agreement Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo were preparing to announce Friday evening sanctions two slot machine licenses open to competitive bid among the state’s four racetracks and three casinos split by geographic region, while empowering the governor to negotiate with Native American tribes to settle their legal claims before casino licenses are bid.


Casino licenses would go for $85 million. Two-tiered slots licenses would fetch $20 million and $25 million, respectively, contingent on the number of machines.
The gambling breakthrough requires casino operators to spend $600 million to qualify, with $100 million for slots licenses allowing for 1,000 machines and $125 million for facilities with 1,250 machines. The higher racino threshold applies only if the licenses are in different regions.


From the licensing fees, $100 million would go to the state’s main savings account, $77.5 million would go to a local aid reserve account, $20 million would pay for gambling mitigation programs, and $20 million would fund a regulatory commission’s launch. According to a summary of the bill, the destination of another $77.5 million was to be determined by the House.
All annual revenues from slots would go toward local aid. Of the remaining gaming revenues, 30 percent – estimated at roughly $120 million – would fund local aid, 60 percent would be split evenly among education, economic development, savings and debt reduction, and the remainder would go toward community, social and cultural economy mitigation.
It remains unclear whether Gov. Deval Patrick will sign the legislation. (LIKE HELL IT IS!... editorial comment)


The bill would create special State Police and attorney general’s office units to enforce gambling laws.
The regulatory commission would be run by appointees of the governor, attorney general and treasurer, with required experience in law enforcement and finance, “among other areas,” according to the summary.
Gambling facilities would have to enter into compacts with host communities and “any other impacted communities,” the summary said.


Senate President Pro Tempore Stanley Rosenberg said late Friday the bill would be filed by 8 p.m. Friday, allowing a Saturday vote in both branches.
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07/30/2010

With many thanks to my informed friend!