Just two months after defeating Governor Deval Patrick’s casino proposal, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi proposed yesterday to reopen the state’s heated debate on gambling by putting a nonbinding question on the November ballot.

Senate President Therese Murray said she was open to DiMasi’s idea for a referendum, which would probably trigger a frenzy of spending by casino interests trying to sway public opinion.

But Patrick administration officials quickly signaled opposition. They said that Massachusetts residents have already spoken in favor of casino gambling in various public opinion polls and that the state should focus on life sciences and clean-energy legislation for the remainder of the 2008 legislative season.

"Poll after poll has shown solid support for the governor’s resort casino proposal," said Daniel O’Connell, Patrick’s economic development secretary and chief adviser on gambling issues. "With all due respect to the speaker, we feel that a nonbinding referendum may not be the best course of action at this time."

O’Connell’s statement suggested that the administration would wait until at least 2009 to try again in the Legislature.

Source:http://www.casinonews.org/