CONCORD – For the third time in a month, House Republican leaders canceled a showdown vote on whether to legalize casino gambling.

At the urging of top supporters, the House instead voted to kick the bill back to committee for a public hearing.

Rep. Stephen Stepanek, R-Amherst, said the proposed changes to the measure, HB 593, were significant enough to warrant more public comment before the Ways and Means Committee.

One amendment is a complete rewrite of the bill, while the second spells out that any profit from the casinos must go to cut the state’s two main taxes on business, the 8.5 percent tax on corporate profits and the 0.75 percent tax on all business activity.

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, R-Salem, said it was unfair to make rank-and-file members vote on such a controversial matter with no time to review new plans.

“Many of you have seen them for the first time today,” Bettencourt said.

Rep. Tony Soltani, R-Epsom, said Wednesday’s up-or-down vote had been known for weeks and should not be postponed.

The House agreed to recommit the bill by a 257-91 vote.

Last month, the Senate Ways and Means Committee set aside its own casino gambling bill to await what happens in the House of Representatives with its measure.

In November, the House policy committee endorsed the expanded gambling bill, which would permit two casinos with as many as 10,000 slot machines and 300 gambling tables.

All the state profit from this bill would go to lowering the two main taxes on business.

The business tax cut offer and analysis that Massachusetts casinos would put at risk $70 million a year in hospitality-related state taxes improved expanded gambling prospects for 2012.

Gov. John Lynch significantly set the campaign back by vowing to veto any casino gambling bill.

Gambling proponents admit they expect there to be a close vote on whether to pass the bill in the House.

Former gambling foes in the House GOP leadership are now on board, but conservative, libertarian-minded Republican legislators have criticized giving a casino franchise monopoly to no more than two private businesses.

Jim Rubens, chairman of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling, claimed support for the bill has collapsed due to opposition from two libertarian-leaning caucuses of House GOP members and Democrats opposed to annual cuts in business taxes.

“They claim to have discovered the joy of transparency, but the reality is, they lack the votes and not be a small margin right now,” Rubens said.

Kevin Landrigan can reached at 321-7040 or klandrigan@nashuatelegraph.com; also check out Kevin Landrigan (@KLandrigan) on Twitter and don’t forget The Telegraph’s new, interactive live feed at www.nashuatelegraph.com/topics/livefeed.

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