The Commonwealth’s Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi has long been seen as the biggest obstacle in the way of Governor Deval Patrick’s plan to build three luxury casinos in the Bay State. DiMasi lived up to that reputation Monday by delivering a blistering attack against the governor’s projections for how many jobs the initiative would create. A Globe piece made clear on Sunday that Patrick’s numbers are lazy at best, and exceedingly misleading at worst.

MonsonN, Massachusetts – As reported by the Worchester Telegram & Gazette: "State Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer, said this weekend that with Gov. Deval L. Patrick's casino legislation heading for the Joint Committee on Economic Development for study and hearings, a debate on the bill may well not come before this fall. "If that's the case, communities that might find themselves in the neighborhood of a casino have plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons...

While Massachusetts debates legalization of casino gambling, the gaming landscape in Connecticut is growing. Traveling along Route 2, a maze of construction, designed to accommodate a projected 9,000 additional daily visitors to the area, is just one sign that something big is afoot as drivers approach Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. The other is a 30-story tower, rising from the surrounding reservation woodlands, and crowned with a symbol of Las Vegas - the shiny MGM Grand marquee with its signature lion.

Las Vegas Sands tycoon Sheldon Adelson, the first outsider to open a casino in Macau and whose company won a license to open the first casino in Singapore, now hopes to keep winning in Massachusetts. Like other Las Vegas operators, Adelson is closely watching Governor Deval Patrick’s campaign to bring casinos to Massachusetts. The governor’s legislation would license three resort-style casinos, which he says would generate USD 400 million annually in tax revenue and 20,000 jobs.

Governor Deval L. Patrick said that he plans to file legislation next week to establish casino resorts in Western Massachusetts and two other parts of the state, and that it will include language calling for local approval of the gambling halls. He said he could not say whether local approval would be decided by binding referenda or through municipal regulatory boards. "What we want to assure is that there is going to be local input in the siting issues, as there is for any other large development," Patrick told reporters after an unrelated speech at the Boston Marriott Copley Place. "How we do that is a question."

The owners of all four of the state's pari-mutuel race tracks will be among the bidders for the three commercial gaming licenses proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this week. Raynham Park, Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville, Suffolk Downs in East Boston and Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere all said they plan to bid for the 10-year licenses, estimated to go for at least USD 200 million.

After a three-week vacation, Governor Deval Patrick returns to the Statehouse to the widespread belief that he will announce his support for casino gambling within days. The only question in many people’s minds is what form that approval will take. Speculation has centered on as many as three casinos: one in Boston, another in Southeastern Massachusetts for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, and a third in Western Massachusetts. Any casino proposal would be subject to legislative approval, a high hurdle in the state House of Representatives.

The operators of the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut are looking at spending about USD 1 billion on a new gambling resort in Palmer that could include up to 4,000 slots, a 600-room hotel and a giant retail center, according to town and Mohegan tribe officials. Bruce ’Two Dogs’ Bozsum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, said that the Mohegans realize any gaming resort in Palmer would cost in the vicinity of USD 1 billion.

Las Vegas - Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has been in his home state of Massachusetts lobbying to legalize casino gambling there, but the casino company he controls has no interest in partnering with Indian tribes to do so, an executive said Thursday. "There's no reason for us to talk to the tribes, quite frankly," Las Vegas Sands Corp. president William Weidner said in a conference call with reporters Thursday.

Two weeks after being briefed on the benefits and pitfalls of casinos in Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick and his administration are fighting to keep secret the completed studies that the governor is reviewing. On July 25, Patrick received a stack of studies on gambling to help him decide whether to support casinos. But in a sign that Patrick is treating the casino question with political caution, the administration declined Monday to provide copies of the records to the Globe, which filed a formal request for them July 26.

A crowd big enough to fill a pro sports arena is expected here Saturday for that quintessential rural New England event, the Town Meeting. Generally no more than a few hundred people attend such meetings, even on hot issues, but officials are preparing for three-quarters of this town of 20,000 to show up. Residents will be marking paper ballots on whether to accept a deal with an Indian tribe to build a [[USD]] 1 billion casino.

Administration officials confirmed that Sheldon Adelson, majority owner of the Las Vegas Sands Casino and one of the US wealthiest individuals, has personally held discussions with Governor Deval L. Patrick’s economic development secretary about the state’s pending decision whether to legalize casino gambling.