CasinoWatch

Two forums on casinos this week; Patrick vs. DiMasi mayhem continues

The game goes on
When it comes to casinos, no end to volley of opinions

The legislative fight over casino gambling up at the State House is sliding nicely into mayhem. House Speaker Sal DiMasi is working feverishly to kill Governor Deval Patrick's bill allowing three casinos in the state, so the hearing to be held on it there this Tuesday promises to be a sweetheart.

While the bile builds, we forget about another casino saga that is moving quietly along a separate track. I'm talking about the bid by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to build a casino in Middleborough, the very place where I heard a ghost recorded by a pair of paranormal investigators a couple of weeks ago say, "Hell, no."  Oh, you forgot about the Wampanoag gambit? You thought that the State House spectacular was the only game in town? No, no, no.

Dismiss Middleborough at your peril. If Patrick's bill goes down, which appears likely, all eyes turn to the town, where the tribe is pushing hard to realize its dreams of ka-ching. Big casino operators behind it are hungry, and much of the citizenry is salivating over the millions supposed to come their way from gambling profits...  Globe. 
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Foes gird for forums on casinos

Casino foes are getting ready for battle on two fronts over the next couple of weeks, beginning Tuesday with a hearing at the State House on Governor Deval Patrick's proposal for three resort casinos in Massachusetts.  A week after that session, on March 25, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a hearing in Middleborough to gather reaction to the Mashpee Wampanoag proposal for an Indian-run casino on 500 acres off Precinct Street. That hearing will help shape an extensive environmental review of the project.

Neither the state nor federal session involves any votes. But Rich Young, a Middleborough resident who is president of the local opposition group CasinoFacts.org as well as the statewide opposition organized as Casino Free Mass, said casino opponents will use each event to make their case.  Tuesday's hearing, before the joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, will focus on Patrick's proposal to legalize gambling and put three commercial casino licenses out to bid...  Globe.