When Romney ran for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat in 1994, he advocated allowing the state to expand gambling with new casinos and slot parlors. And almost a decade later, Romney as governor proposed allowing slot parlors in an effort to helped eradicate a $3 billion deficit.
A few years later, however, Romney – who has switched his position on a variety of issues – did a 180 on gambling, telling the Boston Globe, ''If someone were to bring forward a proposal (in the Legislature) it is not something I would support given our economic circumstances and the social costs associated with gaming."
The Globe detailed Romney’s inconsistency on the issue and noted that Romney had shown an interest in running for president and had been read the riot act by anti-gambling interests in several key primary states, especially Iowa. Support gambling in Massachusetts, they said, and we will not support you. At the time Romney was desperate to curry favor with social conservatives, who were already suspicious of both his policies and his Mormon religion, and he was in no mood to cross them.
Faced with the prospect of having to override a potential Romney veto, gambling supporters in Massachusetts shrugged and dropped the issue. With a new governor, gambling supporter Deval Patrick, now in office, prospects are brighter for new casino legislation that is expected to be filed in the next month.
At this point it appears that Romney has few core principles, and if he is able to knock off President Obama, no one has an inkling of how he would deal with the issue of legalizing gambling. Then again, who would have thought that Obama would sanction last Friday’s action by his Department of Justice?
-- Unions in the United States are under siege, but an Atlantic City casino has reached a unique agreement with unionized workers to complete the new Revel project. Revel Entertainment Group recently received $1.5 billion in funding to complete the project, and has re-hired some 2,000 construction workers. All of the workers must be recommended by one of 22 local trade unions, and in exchange the unions have guaranteed labor peace [i.e., no strikes] throughout the duration even if there are disputes with Revel. With the economy still struggling, construction worker unemployment in the Atlantic City area is almost 40 percent. Several thousand full-time casin/hotel workers are expected to be hired when the project is completed, in about a year.
-- Bradley Franzen, one of the 11 persons arrested and charged by the Dept. of Justice on Black Friday, has pleaded not guilty. Franzen says the government lied to the banks about the nature of financial transactions with online poker sites. He was released on $200,000 bond, secured by his parents’ home.
-- Update on the Sahara in Las Vegas. The tired Vegas icon is bleeding money and will close its doors on May 16. There was uncertainty about whether it would be razed or renovated, but owner Sam Nazarian says that he still plans a complete makeover into a hot spot for young visitors and hopes that it will be the centerpiece of a newly energized North Strip.
-- Hawaiian beach during the day, casino at night. Seems like a perfect vacation for gamblers. But it’s not going to happen anytime soon. Last Friday was the deadline for enabling legislation to make it to the governor’s desk, and lawmakers took a pass on it. So Hawaii will for now remain one of two [Utah is the other] states without any form of gambling. The bill would have allowed online poker and companies would have been charged fees to locate their servers in the state.
-- If New Jersey voters could wave a magic wand, sports betting would be allowed at the state’s casinos and horse tracks. That’s the result, anyway, of a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, which found that by a margin of 53 percent voters are fine with wagering on sports. The issue will be on the ballot in November, which means that New Jersey would be ready if and when the federal government lifts the ban on betting on sports. The public opinion tide is running the right direction – a full 78 percent of young voters (18-34) in New Jersey would vote in favor.
-- Britain’s largest bookmaker, William Hill, is dipping its toes into the American market. William Hill announced a few days ago that it will pay $18 million to purchase Nevada-based American Wagering Inc. and another $21 million for Cal Neva, which operates 26 sports books in Nevada.
-- Bodog is still taking on U.S. poker players, and even offering bonuses to lure anyone who is looking for a landing spot since last Friday’s action took down Poker Stars, Full Tilt and Absolute. Bodog reports that play is up dramatically since last weekend. As always, caution is advised.
-- The last word belongs to Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, a longtime supporter of legalized gambling. Frank is obviously disgusted with the government’s crackdown on online poker: “What an incredible waste of resources,” Frank said. “Go after the people responsible for empty houses, not full houses. I’m not saying violate the law but to give this priority in law enforcement over some other things I think is a terrible idea and I think the administration is wrong on this.”
