The Slots Genie

Boston Herald
Editorials: The slots genie

Far more is at stake in the whole casino-racino battle abrewing between Gov. 
Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert DeLeo than a mere clash of egos or 
agendas.

Because once that slot machine genie is out of the bottle, it’s out for 
good!

This must not be about throwing a few hundred slot machines at the 
racetracks on the pretext of “saving jobs.” Let’s face it, keeping slots up 
and operating isn’t very labor intensive. It’s why we’ve always preferred 
the governor’s efforts to bring resort casinos to the state, which have far 
more job-creating potential.

That’s not to say the tracks can’t get a piece of the action. As the speaker has noted himself, the tracks could have slots installed in 
three to five months, while casinos take more ramp-up time.

There can indeed be room for both. But it needs to be done right the first 
time, because no one gets a second crack at this. After all, once slot 
machines become “legal” there is nothing standing in the way of our 
federally recognized tribes from doing anything they damned well please on 
“tribal lands.”

So could our leaders actually be smart about this? And being smart means 
sitting down and drawing up a compact — before any legislation is filed. It 
should include the tracks, the tribes and provide for resort casinos. It 
would spell out what state licensing fees will be and what percentage of the 
slot machine handle will go to the state.

Hey, we’ve been talking about this for nearly two decades now — during which 
Connecticut has raked in billions of dollars. You think our leaders could 
get it done this year?