The seventy-first Massachusetts governor, Deval Patrick, is openly discussing his feelings about gambling and the prospects of bringing casinos and slot machines to Massachusetts as a way to chip away at a $1 billion gap in the state budget, not to mention an efficient way to fund schools and local town governments. Governor Patrick made it clear that he was open to the idea of slots and casinos, when speaking with municipal leaders in Boston.

The newly appointed Governor (appointed less than two weeks ago) also asked local city leader to express their own views on gambling, and what they felt would be the repercussions of allowing casinos and slot parlors to do business in the Bay State. Beginning on July 1 - the start of the state fiscal year - Governor Patrick will be faced with a structural deficit exceeding $1 billion. Bringing in taxable gaming revenue would certainly be a fine way to bring this figure down. Whether or not local leaders are in support of doing the same remains to be seen.

The Governor has not wasted any time whatsoever expressing what are the most important issues on his agenda. Obviously, Patrick has no compulsions about talking on the issue of gambling. And despite his frankness, he is by no means taking a gung-ho stance and advocating the casino gambling industry. Patrick made it clear that he is simply open to the possibility of bringing casinos and slots into Massachusetts. He said he would like to make a decision in three months time ahead of the beginning of the fiscal year.