Despite a bill that would give the Massachusetts Gaming Commission the option of allowing casinos in the Bay State to extend the hours that they serve alcohol from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., the commission says it has never discussed the issue.
Chairman Stephen Crosby told the House Ways and Means committee, which is mulling the bill, that he and his colleagues have “never talked about” the issue.
Crosby told a reporter last week, “It’s a legislative proposal. It’s up to them and if we’re given the authority we’ll consider it, and if we’re not, we won’t. That’s pretty much the bottom line.”
According to House Ways and Means spokesman Christopher Bennett, “The section was included in order to help maximize the potential of the gaming industry in Massachusetts. As we get nearer to the opening of the facilities and six years past the creation of the law, we need to take into account the changes in the marketplace and ensure competitiveness. The language is not a directive, not specific to any licensee and allows the Commission to consider extending the hours.”
Crosby indicated that the commission has not sought the law, but would implement it if required to. He told the State House News Service: “We’ve never talked about it, and I don’t make judgments like that as an individual. The commission will deal with it if it gets to us, but this is a question of, ‘Do they want to amend the gaming law in a significant way?’ and that’s up to the legislature. It’s not up to us. It’s just not our thing.”
On the other hand, if the law passes and the governor signs it, the commission will “for sure talk about it.”
He added, “We’ll have a public hearing, we’ll do all the transparent stuff that we always do,” he said. “We’ll bring in people who are in favor of it, we’ll bring in people who are opposed to it, we’ll weigh it, we’ll think about it and we’ll make a decision.”
Senate President Stan Rosenberg isn’t keen about the idea, fearing that it might open the gate to more changes to the 2011 gaming expansion law.
Two weeks ago, he told a press conference, “This is the warning light,” adding “If we approve this, next month there will be another proposal. And next year, there will be another proposal and before you know it, we’ll be asked to open more casinos and we’ll be asked to do all sorts of things that will undermine the state’s control over these casinos.”
The Bay State’s only operating casino is Plainridge Park Casino, which stops serving alcohol at 1 a.m., the same time that bars across the state stop sales.
The commission reported that the casino produced $14.1 million in revenue in March, the third best month since it opened in June 2015.
The last few months have seen revenue range from $12 million to $12.8 million each month.
Crosby commented, “It seems like things are not only settling out but also maybe starting to creep up.”
The state has a vested interest in healthy casino profits, which is taxed at 49 percent of gross revenue.
