Region Still Divided Over Casino Debate
On the heels of a statewide poll that shows majority support of allowing casinos in the Bay State, at least one MetroWest politician is still hedging her bets.
"The first issue that needs to be established is do we want expanded gambling," said Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, who chairs the legislature's Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, which is considering the casino issue. "That's the threshold question. If we decide yes, then we need to consider in what ways."
As Spilka continues to meet with colleagues and constituents to mull over the issue, a recent poll released by the Western New England College Polling Institute in Springfield shows that a majority of Massachusetts residents polled support casinos in the state. Specifically, 58 percent of the 528 polled said they would support casinos while 35 percent said they were opposed.
However, in MetroWest there may be more opposition. Residents of Boston and the suburbs, which include many MetroWest communities, were less likely to support casinos compared to residents in the Central and Western portions of the state.
Land Of Steady Opinons
Tim Vecellotti, director of the Polling Institute, said the most recent poll results were almost identical to the results from an October 2009 poll. At that time, 56 percent of adults said they supported casinos and 34 percent said they were opposed.
"These attitudes are pretty stable," said Vecellotti. "The subject has been debated a good bit over the past few years and people seem pretty fixed in their views."
The most recent poll also found that Democrats were much more likely than Republicans to support casinos.
About 61 percent of respondents said they support slot machines being allowed at existing race tracks, compared to 30 percent that are opposed.
Spilka said she's weighing the various options for expanded gaming in the Bay State, including allowing slot machines at current race tracks, creating slot parlors, or having two resort-style casinos. The Massachusetts House overwhelming approved legislation that called for two resort-style casinos earlier this month.
While the House acted quickly, the Senate is expected to move more slowly. Spilka said a bill wouldn't likely emerge from her committee for a vote before the larger Senate membership until June. With that timeline, the Senate legislation would have time to be merged with the House version and considered by Gov. Deval Patrick before the July 31 summer recess deadline.
Spilka said she's seeking feedback from a variety of sources and said most of the people she's spoken with have been fairly evenly split on the issue.
The casino issue was previously rejected in 2008 when Patrick unsuccessfully pushed for licensing resort-style casinos to help close a multi-million budget gap.
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