The Massachusetts Gaming Commission continues running on a schedule that will potentially implement licensure plans for state casinos by the end of the year, as commission members remain optimistic about plans for employee training.
In its 33rd public meeting on Tuesday, the commission evaluated further research and development plans concerning the approval of the maximum three casino licenses and one slots license in the state.
Since Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick signed the expanded gaming law in 2011, the committee has met to pool together its resources in order to outline a proposal regarding the locations of the three casinos.
“We want to put together a thoughtful framework for us to make an educated decision,” said Commissioner Enrique Zuniga, one of the five-members of the commission established by the law.
The commission aims to begin implementing plans for licensure by the end of the year, said Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby.
“We’ll continue to use the November timeframe to consult with the appropriate committees and teams we’ve put together and aim to put these plans into action by the end of December,” Crosby said.
The initial proposals by each competing site will be evaluated and the ones chosen by the committee will become applicants, at which time a background investigation to determine each company’s financial stability to follow through on a project will be launched, Crosby said.
Crosby said bids from eight to 10 companies have already been submitted to the commission, and the first license is set to be granted by early 2014.
The commission is optimistic about the success that its planning has seen, particularly in the area of training for casino employment, said Commissioner Bruce Stebbins.
The construction of three casinos would allow between 10,000 and 12,000 new jobs to be created in the state, including gaming, hospitality and bartending positions, Stebbins said.
The employee training program, available through community colleges, will transform people who are marginally suitable for employment into people who are ready to be hired, Crosby said.
Commissioner Gayle Cameron said casino employees are often employed for longer and move up the employee ladder, she said.
“Employees starting at very low levels will be able to move up into higher positions with these programs, and they won’t be stuck in one level job their entire time there,” said Commissioner Gayle Cameron.
While the commission moves forward with its plans for development, however, there are many residents of the Commonwealth who oppose the idea of new casinos.
Julie Steinmar, a member of United to Stop Slots in Massachusetts from Western Massachusetts, told The Daily Free Press that the addition of gambling facilities in the state would do more harm than good.
“The economic and employment benefits of predatory gambling have been extremely inflated by state governments across the country,” Steinmar said. “In a nutshell, states are exploiting the addiction of a person in order to take the profits for themselves.”
Fellow USS-Mass. member Gary Hartman told the Free Press he agrees with Steinmar’s views “to a less radical extent.”
“Not everyone who gambles has a gambling addiction, so I don’t believe that governments are necessarily exploiting every individual who enters a casino,” Hartman said. “But I think the establishing of new casinos allows a platform for people to develop gambling into an unhealthy habit.”
As neighborhood groups in Suffolk Downs and Springfield voice opposition against casinos, the development process as directed by the gaming law is still underway.
“I’m very grateful that everything is working very smoothly,” Cameron said. “We’re on our way to having all major policy questions addressed.”
The commission will meet again on Nov. 6.
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