Penn National Gaming is moving quickly on plans to build a slots parlor at a Plainville racetrack now that it has been awarded a state license, despite the possibility of a ballot question this fall to repeal the casino law.
"We're not going to slow down our construction process with this threat out there and we're going to fight for the right outcome," Tim Wilmott, Penn National's chief executive, said. "We have a lot of experience in political battles with gaming in other parts of the United States and we feel confident we're going to get the right outcome."
The state Gaming Commission voted unanimously yesterday to award the state's sole slots parlor license to Penn National, and company officials said they would begin construction planning next week at Plainridge Racecourse with a goal of opening next spring. Company officials celebrated the awarding of the license with workers at the track yesterday.
But a group working to strike down the casino law, Repeal the Casino Deal, is petitioning the Supreme Judicial Court to get on the November ballot over the objection of Attorney General Martha Coakley, who argues the question would violate the implied contractual rights of license applicants. The SJC is expected to hear the case in May.
John Ribeiro, chairman of Repeal the Casino Deal, said he is confident the question will get on the ballot in November and that voters will turn against gambling.
"The casino industry's empty promises may have bamboozled the governor, Legislature, Gaming Commission and a handful of struggling cities, but convincing voters across the state that any of this amounts to 'destination resort casinos' is vastly different," Ribeiro said.
Wilmott said the company's most recent election battles involved ballot measures in Ohio. The fights there involved an intense campaign with fliers, direct mail, television, radio and newspaper ads, said Eric Schippers, Penn National's vice president for public affairs.
Penn's ad blitz worked in both 2008 and in 2009, said Rick Lertzman, who was on the losing end of the measure in 2008.
"We've had a lot of interaction with Penn in the past," said Lertzman, chairman of Quest Gaming, which operates rival gaming facilities in Ohio. "We've had a lot of conflict with Penn in the past."
No date has been set for groundbreaking at Plainridge, but Penn National is promising to create 1,000 construction jobs as well as 500 permanent jobs. The facility will have 1,250 slot machines, and will help preserve roughly 100 harness racing jobs at the track.
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