DeLeo eyes gambling vote

While his proposal remains under development, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said he hopes the House votes on a proposal to expand gambling in Massachusetts in early March, before members debate a fiscal 2011 budget bill. DeLeo reiterated his support for racetrack slots and openness to a resort casino but declined to say whether the House's bill would include both. He said he has spoken with Attorney General Martha Coakley about her own proposal to tighten money laundering, wire intercept and enterprise crime laws, which Coakley has described as a necessary precursor to gambling expansion. Senate President Therese Murray, who said she "hopes" to bring casinos to Massachusetts, warned that all other states have experienced corruption upon introducing the industry, and said the regulatory structure needs to be up and operating first. "Every other state that's done gaming, someone goes to jail because it's done too fast, too sloppily," Murray said.