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BOSTON – (Forbes) - Casino and gambling interests have flooded Massachusetts with nearly $1.8 million in lobbying dollars during the first six months of the year as lawmakers weighed bills that would legalize casinos and slot machines.
The surge in lobbying nearly matches the approximately $2 million spent in all of 2009.
The lobbying dollars came from 30 companies and organizations, the majority of them located outside of Massachusetts, according to an Associated Press review of lobbying reports filed with the secretary of state's office.
The top spender was Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC, which runs the Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston. The racetrack spent more than $578,000 on salaries for lobbyists and additional expenses including public relations and consulting.
That compares to $336,000 spent by the track's owners on lobbyists in 2009.
About $75,000 of the track's money spent this year was related to the production and marketing of a website for the group Massachusetts Coalition for Jobs and Growth, which has pushed for casinos.
