Patrick Names Former Finance Secretary As Gaming Commission Head

There's now a leader for the board in charge of handing out licenses for three casinos and a slot parlor in Massachusetts.

Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday tapped Stephen Crosby, the dean of the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston, as chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Previously, Crosby served as secretary of administration and finance to Govs. Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift from 2000 to 2002. He was also Swift's chief of staff in 2002.

During a State House news conference Tuesday, Patrick said Crosby has the management skills and integrity needed to lead the gaming commission.

"It will be up to me and the gaming commission to ensure [to] both the people of Massachusetts and the participants in the gaming industry that the process for developing expanded gaming in Massachusetts is honest, transparent and fair," Crosby said.

While he said he has "wrestled" with expanded gambling as an issue, Crosby said his job now is to maximize the public good.

"As a 50-year resident of Massachusetts, steeped in its particular strengths in culture and history, this matters as much to me personally as it does anyone," he said.

Crosby said his experience with gambling includes the occasional scratch ticket and a visit to a Colorado casino.