The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce backs Gov. Patrick on casinos.
Governor Deval Patrick's promise of thousands of new jobs and billions of fresh dollars would come true if three state-licensed resort casinos are opened across Massachusetts, according to a long-awaited Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce study released yesterday that largely bolsters the governor's economic case.
While the chamber has not yet taken a position on the governor's proposal, its largely positive report could help Patrick win key backing of the business community. Patrick has assiduously courted the labor and teachers unions, but the state's business leaders so far have been lukewarm on the proposal.
"People in the business community are essentially agnostic on the issue of gambling, but very gung-ho on legitimate ways to generate revenue for the Commonwealth and also to generate jobs," said Ralph C. Martin II, chairman of the chamber, which will be meeting next month to decide whether to take a position on casinos for the first time. "And if this turns out to be a net positive, people will be receptive to it."
The 129-page report gives Patrick a lift after a rocky week during which his political opponents on Beacon Hill hammered his estimates of 30,000 construction jobs related to casinos as being inflated. The chamber gave more ammunition to those critics - estimating that no more than 11,500 construction jobs would be created - but it closely matched Patrick's other projections of $2 billion in annual gambling activity, $400 million of that in tax revenue for the state, and 20,000 permanent new jobs.
UPDATE: More from Howie Carr and the Globe.
SECOND UPDATE: From the AP, Globe and Herald.
