Posted by Jeremy Shulkin
David Bernstein, the Boston Phoenix‘s political writer, has an interesting little bit of news to come out of the gaming legislation gridlock: Governor Patrick has publicly involved himself.
But then Governor Deval Patrick stepped in. He made an appearance for the media, to announce that, whereas he has previously demanded a bill with no slots-only licenses, he is now willing to accept a single such license, if the legislature also passes five other bills he wants.
Bernstein calls this a “freakin’ brilliant” move by the Gov. More analysis here.
Locally relevant, Senators Michael Moore and Harriette Chandler have differing views on slots. Moore supports the machines, while Chandler does not. Auburn State Rep. Paul Frost — the only Central Massachusetts politician on the gaming bill’s conference committee — will hopefully give us a call back later with some more information.
UPDATE: The Boston Globe has the latest news that a tentative compromise has been reached, but:
The deal does not meet Governor Deval Patrick’s demands, but, with the legislative session scheduled to end at midnight tomorrow, it is not clear how the governor will respond.
