Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said Thursday that there is “absolutely no reason on earth” for him to resign. The commissioner, who has been under fire for his decision to attend a Kentucky Derby Day party at Suffolk Downs, said that he considered stepping down. However, after discussions with the other members of the […]
Gambling
Posted inGambling, The Download
Casino bidders credo: by any means necessary
True, Jean-Paul Sartre, who is credited with coining the phrase in his 1948 play Dirty Hands, had loftier ideas in mind — the abolition of class distinctions. So, too, did Malcolm X, who launched the line into popular culture when he delivered it in a speech on blacks’ determination to win fully equal standing, less […]
Posted inGambling, The Back Story
Gaming Commission: Boosterism or bias?
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is taking a lot of heat from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and others for failing to be objective, but the perception of bias may stem from differing views about the appropriate role of the commission. Walsh and other critics of the commission want it to act much like an impartial jury, […]
Posted inGambling
Tackling tie votes
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, left with an even number of members after Chairman Stephen Crosby recused himself from votes on Greater Boston casino licensing issues, is going to try to come up with a procedure for dealing with tie votes. A spokeswoman for the commission confirmed that the tie-vote issue will be taken up at […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
Sausage-making and casino licenses: Butchery at work
You’d be hard-pressed to find another state law and initiative that has been botched the way the rollout of the casino gambling law has been. From voters negating lawmakers’ intent by rejecting casinos in their midst to a headless Gaming Commission making decisions on the most important license in the state, the process may loosely […]
Posted inGambling
Host status hinged on lease provision
Mohegan Sun beat back a bid by Boston to win host community status for a Revere casino in part by removing a provision from the secret lease agreement between Mohegan and Suffolk Downs that would have allowed the track to turn over its horse racing operations to the casino operator. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted […]
Posted inGambling
Crosby recuses himself from Boston actions
Citing questions raised about his behavior and judgment, Stephen Crosby, the chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said on Thursday that he would no longer take part in the agency’s deliberations on Greater Boston casino matters. Crosby’s decision leaves the commission with an even four members on Greater Boston issues, raising the possibility of voting […]
Posted inGambling
Gaming panel denies Boston host status
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission adopted a narrow interpretation of state law on Thursday in voting 4-0 to deny Boston host community status for proposed casinos in Revere and Everett. The vote dealt a stinging rebuke to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and denied voters in East Boston and Charlestown the chance to decide the fate of […]
Posted inGambling, The Download
The uphill casino climb
The years of legislative infighting that led up to the legalization of casinos in Massachusetts were supposed to be the hard part. When Gov. Deval Patrick signed casinos into law in late 2011, the rest was supposed to be downhill. It hasn’t been. Casinos have been legal in Massachusetts for two and a half years […]
Posted inGambling, Opinion
Spring 2014 Editor’s note
the massachusetts gaming Commission has a tough choice to make in awarding the Greater Boston casino license. The two finalists, Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts, are both strong companies, pledging to create 4,000 jobs and pump more than $1 billion into their projects. Yet, as our Conversation package with the leaders of the two companies […]