Slots a hope for shocked Wonderland workforce

REVERE – Paul DeFilippo lives in Revere, has two kids in college and, as of Jan. 1, 2010, will be out of a job thanks to Massachusetts voters spurred on Tuesday by anti-dog racing proponents.Although Lynn, Saugus and Revere voters rejected the dog racing ban, voters statewide passed the measure 56 percent to 44 percent Tuesday.DeFilippo stood outside on Election Day with his dogs, Smiley Boy and Devil Dog, urging people to vote against the referendum.”We were changing votes but we got murdered in the western part of the state.”The loss leaves DeFilippo and other long-time Wonderland Greyhound Park employees pondering the future and hoping the Legislature will succeed in bringing slot machines to the track.”We’ll have to rely on the politicians to come up with expanded gambling,” Wonderland assistant general manager Ron Wohlen said.Like DeFilippo and many other Wonderland employees, Wohlen has devoted his working life to a business that once lured 10,000 spectators a day and filled two sprawling parking lots with cars.When it comes to politicians, track workers have a powerful ally in state Rep. Robert DeLeo, who supports bringing slots to the racetracks.”As we start a new legislative session, the whole issue of casino gambling comes up again,” DeLeo said, acknowledging the Legislature’s recent track record of defeating gambling proposals.DeLeo is working with other legislators to identify ways to help track workers, including retraining and helping them find jobs.”Our first concern has to be the working families affected by the passage of Question 3. Where do they go?” he asked.Ban proponents announced their victory by restating a commitment to seek out retraining opportunities for track workers. About 350 people work at Wonderland, but only 130 are employed in the “dark season,” the fall and winter months when the dogs are off the tracks and bettors wager on races broadcast from other tracks.The state Racing Commission votes as early as next Wednesday on Wonderland’s 100-day racing 2009 schedule.”I can’t even think about life after 2009,” said parimutuel clerk Barry Dwyer, a Wonderland employee since 1965. “This has paid my bills and sustained my life.”