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Massachusetts legislators were locked in negotiations Thursday over casino gambling legislation. But the talks centered not on whether to have gambling in the state at all, but rather on what kind. That's a major leap forward for the former home of the Puritans, which has for decades fended off attempts to bring casino gambling within its borders.

For the first time in the state, gambling has the support of both houses of the Bay State's legislature, as well as the governor's office. But legalization may still fail because of one issue: whether or not to allow slot machines at state's existing racetracks in addition to several stand-alone casino resorts.

Legislators favoring competing bills from the House, which includes the racetrack carve-out, and the Senate, which does not, have been in negotiations for weeks. On Thursday evening the two sides still had not come to an agreement on that issue, but were directing staff to start drafting a new bill in order to get it to the governor for a Saturday deadline, when the legislative session ends.

The same recessionary forces that in recent years led such states as Ohio and Maryland to embrace gambling, coupled with a leadership change in the Massachusetts legislature, have brought casinos new appreciation in a state that didn't even permit Sunday liquor sales until six years ago.