"Wednesday's tortured, tortuous, amateurish quasi-release of the Senate gambling proposal ultimately contained few surprises - regional lines for three facilities, including one tribal, no provisions for slot machines, lots of talk about government oversight.

A casual or even close observer could be forgiven for wondering what the fiddle is going on with the Senate. Just as the House convulsed upon itself in reversing its anti-casino vote two years ago, and its anti-slots vote two years before that, the Senate, or at least its leaders, flipped wildly on racinos. In 2005, the Senate went for slots, 26-9, at a sum of 2,000-per track, prompting some on-the-rostrum fist jukes from then-Senate President Robert Travaglini. Chatter about starkly different economic times aside, if the Senate is to shoot down the inevitable proposed slots amendment, many members would have to reverse pro-slots positions including the Upper Chamber's most powerful figures.

This, after last week's jaw-dropping swipe at illegal immigrants that had even senators who voted for it this week acknowledging they were surprised Senate President Therese Murray allowed the matter to come the floor, and almost as surprised the amendment requiring legal residency screening before access to public benefits, outlawing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, establishing a tip line for suspicions of illegal immigrant hiring sailed. Supporters, who were just as surprised as opponents, said they saw nothing wrong with encoding into statute some of what the state says it's already doing.

Ideological schizophrenia and election-year realism are two options, and perhaps not mutually exclusive."

Get the Story:
Jim O'Sullivan: The Senate takes a gamble (State House News Service 6/5)

Also Today:
Murray: Mass. Senate casino plan still in flux (AP 6/4)
Pacheco: Senate released gaming bill too late (The Brockton Enterprise 6/5)

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