Casino Bill Passed After Last-Minute Changes

Massachusetts lawmakers have sent a casino gambling bill to Gov. Deval Patrick after resolving a last-minute dispute over how much gaming revenue should go to help the state's horse racing industry.

Last-minute changes were made to the bill after Patrick expressed concerns. The House and Senate on Wednesday voted to amend the bill to reduce the percentage of annual gaming revenues that would be directed to the horse racing industry.

The reduction would be from 5 percent to 2.5 percent, with the other 2.5 percent redirected to local capital projects.

A compromise gambling bill was passed by both the House and Senate on Tuesday, but needed final enactment votes on Wednesday.

Lawmakers also voted to add language regarding police jurisdiction around casino that had been left out of the earlier measure.

Patrick is expected to sign the legislation into law.

With reporting by The Associated Press and WBUR's Steve Brown.