Keller @ Large: What's Up With The Casino Business?

BOSTON (CBS) - What is up with the casino business here in eastern Massachusetts, sold to us 2 ½ years ago as a quick fix to our unemployment woes, now being trashed by some of the same politicians who supported it in the first place?

Listen to Jon's commentary:

There was former Mayor Tom Menino, who was touting the sweet casino deal he'd cut with Suffolk Downs less than eight months ago, claiming in a WBZ-TV interview last weekend that casinos have become a "political quagmire," the voters had become "tired" of all the "nonsense" surrounding the issue and would likely approve a repeal of the casino law this fall if it makes it onto the ballot.

And Thursday, lawyers for Menino's successor, former casino booster Marty Walsh, tossed a hand grenade into the faltering licensing process by demanding that Gaming Commission Chairman Steve Crosby recuse himself over "prejudicial" statements he's made about Boston's legal standing as a casino neighbor, and alleged the commission as a whole had "stacked the deck" against them.

The head of the Walsh law department – former State Rep. Eugene O'Flaherty, who voted for the casino law back in 2011.

As Marvin Gaye would say, what's goin' on?

Just like one of their so-called "whales" - the big spenders who make casinos happy by dropping huge bucks during heavily-comped gambling binges – it appears the casino giants have been rolling snake eyes here for awhile.

Tewksbury, Palmer and East Boston revealed an unexpected voter backlash. The polls have turned sour. The economy is picking up without help from slot machines.

And savvy pols like Menino and Walsh can smell the tide going out.

Good timing is everything, isn't it? And luck helps too.

Having neither can make for a bad night at the craps table.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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