Voters Reject Question 1, Revere Fends Off Slots Parlor

Photo via iStock.com/Hal Bergman

Massachusetts voters have rejected Question 1, the ballot question that would have cleared the way for the state’s second slots parlor, the Associated Press has projected.

Question 1 would have allowed the state Gaming Commission to issue Massachusetts’ second such license with a caveat: the parlor had to be located “adjacent to and within 1,500 feet of a race track.” The developer behind the ballot measure was Eugene McCain, who sought to build a slots parlor in Revere, adjacent to Suffolk Downs.

Even if statewide voters had approved, Revere residents could still have rejected the slots parlor under gambling law. In their first consideration in mid-October, Revere voters wanted to reject the slots parlor nearly 2 to 1, siding with notable Question 1 opponents like No Eastie Casino’s Celeste Myers, Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo, and casino mogul Steve Wynn. McCain’s slots parlor wouldn’t have moved forward unless Revere voters approved it in another local referendum anyway.

The state’s sole slots-only facility remains the Plainridge Park Casino, open 24 hours, about an hour’s drive from Boston.