Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A pair of deuces

Though it seemed that Sal DiMasi's departure from the State House would signal a new day for advocates of bringing casino gambling to Massachusetts, a couple of obstacles have been tossed into the fray.

First, the economic downtown makes developers and potential customers harder to find. Second, a ruling today by the Supreme Court undoes the status of the Middleborough land purchased by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe. Without the land being placed in a federal trust, the tribe does not have the right to bypass current state law and go forward with its plans.

Of course, the state legislature could still vote to legalize casinos, the governor could sign the bill into law and the economy could bounce back, but for now the excitement of those in favor of the move would seem to be in a state of limbo.

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