New casino pitched for Massachusetts

Even though the Massachusetts state Senate has opted to go with destination casinos, Suffolk Downs racetrack is putting its chips on a racino-centric bill currently before the assembly. The track has three things going for it: proximity to Boston plus the good offices of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Beantown Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

S&G almost had a coughing spasm when the Boston Globe described Downs owner Richard Fields as “a deep-pocketed developer who has successfully built two major casinos in Florida.” Maybe so but this was the guy who couldn’t pull the trigger on a purchase of Trump Marina even after the casino was marked down to K-Mart prices. I’m just sayin’.

Speaking of deep pockets, Sheldon Adelson is lying back in the tall grass out in Marlborough, where he’s been quietly amassing land for his own casino proposal, one of at least six on the table. Would it be the second coming of Sands Macao or a rerun of the Sands Bethlehem nightmare?