As the state’s newly appointed Gaming Commission heads into its first public meeting today, check out this interview, by WAMC’s Paul Tuthill, with the sole Western Mass. member of the board, Bruce Stebbins.
Tuthill asked Stebbins, among other things, how the commission will ensure that casinos have positive benefits for the state, and whether his history within Springfield city government (as a City Councilor and, more recently, in economic development) will make him biased toward steering the one casino promised to (or, depending on how you see it, inflicted upon) Western Mass. in his city.
Stebbins promised that the selection of casino developers and sites will be an “open, transparent” process with input from the public. He told Tuthill that he expects the commission will officially begin seeking applications for gaming licenses in six to nine months; it will be about five years, he added, before the chosen developers get the “shovel in the ground.”
Tuthill also asked Stebbins if he himself enjoys playing the slots. “I’ve been to a casino, you know, at various times in the last several years, but I wouldn’t say I’m a regular,” responded Stebbins, who added that he’s been to Foxwoods for meetings but has never gambled there.
Today’s inaugural meeting of the gaming commission is being held at UMass Boston. If you weren’t able to make the trip, don’t feel too bad; as the Associated Press reported: “A spokeswoman for the panel said the commissioners won’t be taking questions during, before, or after the meeting.”
The commission has set up a website, where comments can be submitted.
