Pols hope bid for extended serving hours at casinos comes up snake eyes
Boozing on the casino floor until 4 a.m. is a bad idea that could lead to more problems, both Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg said.
“I hate it,” said Rosenberg.
“The next thing is probably going to be smoking in casinos. ... There is no end of changes that will be requested once they believe that the Legislature will bend to the pressure of the industry,” he added during an appearance on Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” show yesterday.
A provision in Gov. Charlie Baker’s $39.42 billion budget allows casinos to seek extended service hours for patrons who are gambling on casino floors. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission would have to approve any requests, and while the Wynn Boston Harbor casino in Everett has not commented on the license, a spokesman for MGM Springfield, scheduled to open next year, said the casino would consider applying.
Walsh said he fears mobs of people looking to extend their drinking time will rush through Charlestown on their way to a potential 4 a.m. last call at the Wynn casino if the Everett resort takes advantage of the new measure.
“I used to drink, I know what it is,” Walsh said on the “Morning Meeting” program. “Many nights the night would end at 2, but I would find ways to keep going beyond 2. If I had a casino ... God only knows.”
Rosenberg said he’s not a fan of the new law.
“I opposed it when we wrote the original casino bill. If you can’t take a fourhour break from alcohol in a 24-hour-a-day operation, something is wrong,” he added.
As the Herald reported yesterday, the law will allow Bay State casinos to serve booze two hours longer than cross-border competitors Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
Police and neighbors in surrounding towns have raised concerns the extended drinking hours will attract drunken revelers and dangerous drivers, while a spokesman for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association said the law gives an unfair competitive advantage to casinos.
Eliane Driscoll, spokesperson for the state gaming commission, said an “extended public discussion” would be held on any request to keep serving until 4 a.m.