Now that the Bay State is close to giving a green light to Las Vegas-style gambling, the casino giants are rushing in.

Some of the largest casino and racino operators in the world, including Harrah’s and Penn National, are meeting with state officials and looking for ways to crack the long-illusive, and highly profitable, Massachusetts gambling market.

Meanwhile, in New Bedford, waterfront land owner Leon Dragone may announce a deal in the next month with a major publicly traded gaming company for a resort casino.

Also standing at the ready are private equity players like Chicago-billionaire Neil Bluhm, who is building a Pittsburg casino and would likely love to roll the dice in the Massachusetts market, industry observers say.

The Wonder Of It All?

That could be just the right bet for our state’s beleaguered economy and battered state budget, with the potential for thousands of construction and permanent jobs and hundreds of millions in new revenue for cash-starved state coffers.

But it also shatters the latest, trendy argument rolled out by anti-gambling moralists in their zeal to shut down the casino industry. Seizing upon the economic downturn that has hit the sector along with everyone else, gambling foes have tried to craft an argument that the rocky times are actually a sign that those poor, victimized casino customers have finally seen the light.

Kind of like arguing the financial turbulence buffeting the airline industry is really a sign that the public is swearing off flying or that auto sales are down because Americans have finally decided that cars are evil pollution machines.

Anyway, that argument is fading fast and will look fairly silly in a year or two’s time. There are growing signs the downturn in the casino industry has hit bottom, with a few states, like Pennsylvania, actually reporting rising revenue.

Still, to say gambling is a done deal would be foolish. Our fearless leaders on Beacon Hill know too well how to screw up a good thing. And while there is seeming agreement on turning to gambling as a source of revenue, there are still big differences on whether we should focus on big resort casinos or more stripped-down slot halls.

Are They Bluffing?

That said, the prospects of expanded gambling in Massachusetts look better now than ever before. And the big casino companies – while cautious of state’s long history of flirting with but never consummating gambling deals – are voting with their feet.

“The inevitability of it is there,” said David Nunes, a veteran developer working on plans for a major gambling venue near one of the state’s busiest intersections – the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 495. “People are tired of watching the money skip over state lines to Connecticut and Rhode Island.”

The rising interest in Massachusetts by gambling companies is a direct result of the state’s political shift toward casino gambling.

Anti-gambling House strongman Sal DiMasi stepped down earlier this year, to be replaced by Robert DeLeo, who has a racetrack in his district and who favors racino-style gambling.

Meanwhile, Gov. Deval Patrick, who led last year’s push for resort casinos, has reaffirmed his support for some form of expanded gambling, while Senate President Therese Murray recently offered up her own, colorful endorsement in a speech before business leaders, mimicking the sound of a slot machine.

Believe me, for Massachusetts, this is big progress.

Scanning The Field

With the state’s political leaders sending the right signals, the major gambling players are starting to scout for opportunities here.

Penn National, a major gambling giant with a nearly $1.5 billion war chest bulging with cash, has been making the rounds of state officials, industry observers note. In an industry still weakened by the downturn, the Pennsylvania-based operator, which prefers less-elaborate racinos to resort casinos, is pitching itself as a safe bet to get the deal done.

Led by former Harvard University business professor Gary Loveman, Harrah’s Entertainment, one of the world’s largest casino companies, is also making the rounds.

Las Vegas-based MGM, which last year rolled out a major MGM Grand-themed expansion at Foxwoods, is also on the prowl here.

Still, they face some big competition from a mix of local developers and at least one major casino company already sitting at the poker table.

Richard Fields, who built a casino for Florida’s Seminole tribe, is now looking to transform East Boston’s Suffolk Downs into a gambling and entertainment destination.

Mohegan Sun, for its part, has a site nailed down in Palmer, giving it front-runner status for the rights to develop a casino in Western Massachusetts.

“We remain very interested in the Massachusetts market and believe we know it better than anyone else,” said Chuck Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribe.

Of course, there’s also Dragone, with his harbor-front site and soon-to-be-announced casino deal in New Bedford, as well as Nunes, with a sizeable tract of his own off the Interstate 495 belt and the backing of a major investment house.

“[The major players] are pretty much all there in reconnaissance,” Dragone said.

Betting On A Rebound

The influx of players to Massachusetts is just the latest in a growing series of signs that the worst may be over for the hard-hit gaming industry.

After more than a year of declines, revenue is on the uptick again at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, while there are signs the rate of decline in Las Vegas and Atlantic City is starting to slow.

Meanwhile, states like Pennsylvania, which rolled out several no-frills racinos in a bid to keep local gamblers at home, are actually posting increases.

So much for the idea, much loved by gambling prohibitionists, that the casino industry is doomed.

Still, that doesn’t mean it is all smooth sailing here in Massachusetts for casino interests.

For starters, there is a debate among the casino giants themselves as to how fast to push gambling legislation on Beacon Hill.

Some of the bigger, better-known casino players want to take a go-slow approach, one that will give them time to lick their financial wounds. This may be one reason why state leaders have put off casino legislation to the fall, one industry executive notes.

But that is not sitting well with other gambling industry players, especially those backed by private investment funds. A number have been started in recent years by former Las Vegas casino execs, and they would rather see action now than later.

And even as they start prospecting for development sites, most casinos companies are nervous about the Bay State’s reputation for flirting with and then abandoning the industry.

Several gambling bills over the past decade have advanced on Beacon Hill, only to get shot down at the last minute by our quirky Legislature. Poll after poll shows sizeable public support for expanded gambling, while proposal after proposal has wound up dead after falling victim to State House power politics.

So if Patrick and other state leaders are serious about cashing in on the casino industry’s interest in Massachusetts, Nunes suggests they first offer a little reassurance.

“The governor and legislative leaders need to offer a signal that this is going to happen in Massachusetts and this time it will not fail,” Nunes said.