Final 2 Members Named To Mass. Casino Gaming Commission

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — The final two members of the state's five-person casino gambling commission have been unveiled.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports.

The appointees are retired associate justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court James McHugh, and business development administrator for the City of Springfield Bruce Stebbins.

McHugh and Stebbins were the joint picks of Gov. Deval Patrick, Attorney General Martha Coakley and Treasurer Steven Grossman,

The casino law signed by Patrick last fall set a March 21 deadline for completing the panel.

Patrick earlier named Stephen Crosby, a dean at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, to chair the panel that will award up to three licenses for resort casinos and one slots parlor license.

Coakley appointed former New Jersey state police investigator Gayle Cameron to the panel. Grossman tapped Enrique Zuniga, current head of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust.

The team in charge of establishing destination casino's in Massachusetts is now set, with a leader who admits he's never placed a bet at a casino. Steve Crosby defended his past Tuesday, explaining, "I don't think knowing how to play craps or being an active user of a casino is the critical variable in this for us."

Crosby, who has extensive public and private experience, says he just visited Connecticut's Mohegan Sun for the first time Friday night. "I didn't gamble but wandered around to get the gestalt. I absolutely have a lot to learn, I don't question that's an important thing."

What about the other four members of the Commission?

Gayle Cameron has a lot of experience investigating casino games as a former Lieutenant Colonel for New Jersey State Police. She says, "Since I've retired, one time I've been in a casino, and it was a birthday get together with friends."

Any big wins or losses for Cameron? An adamant: "No."

Springfield's Business Development Manager Bruce Stebbins and Enrique Zuniga each admit to casino wins and losses.

Stebbins says, "My best day I walked out with a hundred bucks." How about his worst day? "I lost 150."

Zuniga says, "I have a very low threshold for what I gamble. It's been in the threshold of 100 dollars as well."

Retired Judge James McHugh liked to hit the tables in his Navy days, saying "Years ago I was pretty good at blackjack." Now he appreciates the "ambiance" of resort casinos, and says he looks forward to the process ahead. "I took this job to make sure the benefits of this process accrued for the people of the Commonwealth the way the legislation is set up to do."

Now, this Commission must figure out how to spend the 20 million dollars it has borrowed from the state budget as they decide on up to three casinos and one slot parlor in Massachusetts

WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson contributed to this report.

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