Boston Business Journal by Thomas Grillo, Real Estate Editor
Date: Monday, March 19, 2012
Real Estate Editor - Boston Business Journal
The man tasked with bringing expanded gambling to the Bay State has never set foot in a casino and is a recent convert to supporting gaming here.
“I have never been to either of the Connecticut casinos,” said Stephen Crosby, chairman designate of the new Massachusetts Gaming Commission. “I’ve been to Vegas on conventions many times, but I don’t remember ever using any of the machines. My stepson gave me “Casino Gambling for Dummies.”
In a wide-ranging interview with Boston Business Journal reporters and editors, Crosby said his position over bringing casinos to Massachusetts has evolved, noting that he had been at most an “unenthusiastic supporter” of the idea and sometimes an “active opponent” to expanded gambling. But Crosby insists he came around before Governor Deval Patrick appointed him to the $150,000 a year post in December.
Ahhhh....so Crosby is paid $150,000 per year and doesn't know a freaking thing about GAMBLING? Ahhhh.....THANKS!
“I was not real strong pro or con, but when I was con I just felt like it was a crappy way to raise money,” Crosby said. “It is probably is a pretty regressive tax, meaning the people who can least afford it are contributing a disproportionate share. ... I have come to think that being opposed is the wrong position. If I had been in the Legislature or of I had been the governor I would have supported something like this.”
He said given that $860 is spent annually by every man, woman, and child on the Massachusetts State Lottery, “for us to be holier than thou about not getting into gambling is crazy, we are into gambling on a per capita basis, more than any other state in the nation so I decided it’s a way to make a little money, it does have an economic impact and lots of people do it because it’s fun.”
Crosby also noted that the commission, which will be adding its final two members this week, will be hiring as many as 150 staff to fill positions in law enforcement, licensing, and finance divisions. The commission’s start- up budget is $20 million, he said, borrowed from the state’s rainy day fund with $5 million going to the governor’s office to negotiate a compact with the Wampanoag tribe for a southeastern Massachusetts casino license.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment