State Representative Joseph Wagner has taken issue with remarks from the head of the state gambling commission that Massachusetts could license fewer than three resort casinos, the maximum allowed by state law, if the commission’s review of the market suggests the Bay State cannot support that many.
The Chicopee Democrat said Wednesday that it is “a fact” that the state has three viable casino markets and that the public comments from gambling commission chairman Stephen Crosby set the wrong tone for a state trying to attract developers to enter the competition for gambling licenses.
“Tone is so important when we’re trying to attract economic development investment into Massachusetts,” Wagner said in an interview. Potential casino developers “see those comments, and it has them scratching their heads,”
Wagner was a key member in the legislative effort last year to legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts. The casino law divides the state into three zones and authorizes the commission to license up to one gambling resort in each zone, plus a slot parlor that can be built anywhere.
Several media outlets have recently quoted Crosby saying that the commission intends to ask experts to reevaluate the state gambling market to determine if the financial data on which the legislation was based is still accurate.
Wagner said, however, that the interest expressed by casino developers in each zone is proof that “there is a market in each region.”
Several casino companies — including MGM, Ameristar, and Mohegan Sun — have expressed interest in the state’s western region. Suffolk Downs is preparing a bid for the Greater Boston license.
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