That law allows the holder of a simulcasting license to get a license for a retail sportsbook as well, so long as at least $7.5 million is invested in the project over three years. This promise was cemented in the sports betting law the Legislature finally passed last summer after years of industry lobbying. All the while, the Sterling Suffolk partnership of concessionaire Joe O’Donnell, developer/horse enthusiast Richard Fields, and property investor Vornado Realty Trust hung together for another reason: the promise of sportsbook licenses that could allow them to accept mobile bets, and to open a brick-and-mortar betting parlor in Boston.