GOGOGOGOGOGGOGOGOOO
www.boston.com
Treasurer calls casino plan "realistic"
By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff
State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill outlined a plan today for a state-regulated casino to preempt the Mashpee Wampanoags that he said could bring more money to cities and towns than the roughly $900 million in local aid raised each year by the lottery.
Cahill described a first-class resort regulated by a gaming commission that could be developed faster than an Indian-run casino, which he said would drain money from the lottery and provide the state only a limited amount of revenue that was subject to negotiations with the tribe.
"I would argue if we act now, before we are forced to under the Indian gaming act, we can extract significantly more revenue than Connecticut," Cahill told a crowd of 150 people at a breakfast for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce at the InterContinental hotel in Boston.
The proposal was outlined in today's Globe. The Mashpee Wampanoags, who are celebrating their official recognition by the federal government, have announced plans to open a casino by 2010, but must first go through the time-consuming process of putting land into federal trust.
"We here in New England have always been embarrassed by our per capita spending on gaming," Cahill said today. "I propose we stop apologizing and take advantage of it."