By BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — One year has passed since Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill authorizing up to three resort-style casinos and a slots parlor in Massachusetts.

While much has happened, the state gaming commission is still likely more than a year from awarding licenses, and it could be 2017 before any casino actually opens.

Western Massachusetts has been a hotbed of casino interest, but competition has been slow to take shape elsewhere. Plans for a tribal casino envisioned under the law are in limbo.

Some critics would like to see the process move more quickly. Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trade Council, says thousands of jobs are at stake.

Commission chairman Stephen Crosby says he understands the impatience but won’t be pressured into hasty decisions. He says the panel faces complex issues and won’t “sacrifice care for speed.”