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House Rejects Casino Plan

Governor Patrick's proposal to license three resort-style casinos in Massachusetts has been rejected by House lawmakers.

After an impassioned six-hour debate, representatives voted 106-48 to send the bill to a study committee.

That move effectively defeats the measure and ensures it won't come back up for debate until next year at the earliest.

House Speaker Sal DiMasi engineered a pivotal committee vote against the bill yesterday. After today's (Thursday) vote, he said "big money special interests lost," while the people of Massachusetts won.

Patrick predicted the casinos would have generated $400 million in annual tax revenue.

Robert Haynes, Massachusetts president of the AFL-CIO and a supporter of the bill, says he's profoundly disappointed in the vote and in the process.

This program aired on March 20, 2008. The audio for this program is not available.

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