Gaming giants betting heavily on Foxboro

Gaming giants betting heavily on Foxboro
By Dave Wedge
Saturday, September 3, 2011

Casino moguls have turned their eyes to Foxboro for a possible gambling palace, prompting town officials to meet on the issue next week as Bay State lawmakers roar closer to legalizing gaming after decades of folding, the Herald has learned.

Gaming developers have targeted bustling Route 1 — home to the New England Patriots — as a potential site for a multimillion-dollar casino, sources and officials say.

“The town manager has received some phone calls from a number of people wondering if the town would be interested if the casino bill would pass,” Foxboro Board of Selectmen Chair Lawrence J. Harrington told the Herald.

The board will hold a meeting Tuesday at which Town Manager Kevin Paicos will propose making a zoning change that could pave the way for a casino. Any gambling facility would need a local special permit and Town Meeting approval, Harrington said.

Any casino erected along Route 1 would be built in the shadow of Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping mecca. The Kraft family, owners of the Patriots and the stadium property, could not be reached for comment on whether any family-owned land is being eyed.

A spokeswoman for the Wampanoags said the tribe is “not interested” in the Krafts’ land.

The Kraft family has been rumored for years to be considering deals involving gambling companies. There have been reports as far back as 1994 that the Krafts had met with members of the Wampanoag Tribe regarding a possible casino near the former Foxboro Stadium.

The stadium land was once home to Foxboro Raceway, a harness horse racing track shuttered in 1997 to make way for Gillette, which opened in 2002. In the mid-1990s, Kraft had discussions with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which operates Foxwoods casino in Connecticut, about possibly turning the track into a slots palace.

In 2003, Foxboro was named by the Wampanoag Tribe as one of 35 southeastern Massachusetts towns on its list of possible casino sites.

News of a potential Foxboro casino adds a new player in the crowded field eager to cash in on legalized gambling. The consensus among Gov. Deval Patrick, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray on the current proposed gambling bill has fueled speculation the measure will soar through the Legislature. The bill calls for one slots parlor and three resort casinos — one in western Massachusetts, one in Greater Boston and one in southeastern Massachusetts. Under the plan, one license would be required to go to a recognized Native American tribe.

This is when the LINE on the map was moved -- before Governor Slot Barns' re-election --

Foxboro is included in the Greater Boston district under the current bill, which would pit it against Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston.

The specter of legalization has casino companies aligning themselves with local developers from Palmer to Martha’s Vineyard. Proposals for massive resort casinos have been laid out for all three of the state’s racetracks — Suffolk Downs, Raynham/Taunton Greyhound Park and Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville.

There have also been plans floated for casinos in New Beford, Fall River, Milford, Palmer and Holyoke.

Raynham Park owners, meanwhile, are in talks with Delaware North, which owns the Boston Bruins and operates casinos and racetracks in six states.

State Sen. James Timilty (D-Walpole) said of a potential Route 1 gaming palace: “If the town of Foxboro wanted it, then I would support it.”