At least $2,180,257 -- Includes Lobbying Expenditures from 1995-96

June 9, 1997

Bay State residents can tempt fate at the racetrack, the church bingo parlor, or the lottery machine, but so far the state is devoid of casino gambling. That's not for lack of trying; dozens of gaming interests are pushing casino legislation on Beacon Hill, from the Wampanoag Indians, who are lobbying to open up gambling on their reservation -- but saw saw their most recent attempt dashed when the state legislature rejected a gambling bill last month -- to huge national players like Hilton, Harrah's, and Bally who are hoping the Wampanoags can blaze the gambling trail.

We tried to look into campaign contributions from these gaming players, but Massachusetts keeps only paper records, prohibitively expensive as usual. The Secretary of State, however, did get us a copy of the lobbyist expenditure reports for 1995-96:

Web Exclusives:

Heavy Betting
An exclusive investigation of the gambling industry's state-by-state political contributions.

Across State Lines
Track gambling interests political contributions across 11 states.

Ea$y Money: The Documentary
See exclusive video clips from the FRONTLINE and Mother Jones Television co-production.

Fun Facts
Test your knowledge about gambling.

From the Magazine:

Ea$y Money
With exploding profits, the gambling industry is investing in politics.

All Bets Are Off
Citizens groups have won some key battles in the gambling wars.

World Wide Wagering
On the Internet, it's already possible to lose your shirt from your desktop, and more gambling sites are in the works.

Hot!Media
See Hot!media for more resources.