Gabrieli Pushes for Casino in Massachusetts
Chris Gabrieli, gubernatorial candidate, proposed Tuesday to legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts. It is a means of reducing the pressure on property taxs and also a means to raise revenue that can be sent back to cities and towns.
Gabrieli said today, "We might as well be proactive. A lot of Massachusetts residents are going to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun down in Connecticut. By some estimates they spend $900 million a year there. The question is, would we be better off allowing that to happen in Massachusetts?"
For Gabrieli, the state already allows gambling in Massachusetts through the Lottery. Lottery is the most successful of its kind in the nation. Also at the same time, residents of Massachusetts have seen the property taxes increase by 32 percent since 2002.
The gubernatorial candidate's proposal states a Gaming Regulatory Commission would be established to coordinate and regulate the Lottery and expand new regulations and develop gaming like slot machines and other casino gambling.
Gabrieli stressed out that all the resulting revenues would be returned to cities and towns in the forms of local aid payments. Gabrieli, a multimillionaire, said the gambling expansion wouldn't prey on the poor because most of the players from Connecticut are from the middle-class, which gambling is possible.
Another gubernatorial candidate, Christy Mihos said, she supports slot machines but not casinos in Massachusetts. Few of the candidates for gubernatorial position said, casinos are a bad idea for Massachusetts.
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