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CASINO WATCH OPPOSE SB 1010 BECAUSE, Louisiana Downs track installing 15,000 square feet of slot machines. West Virginia, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Delaware, Iowa and NewMexico - have authorized slots, video poker or video lottery terminals, called VLTs for short, at pari-mutuel tracks. A bill that would allow slot machines at The Woodlands racetrack is being dusted off and a new assault launched on the Kansas Legislature by its supporters. Kansas: Legislation that would allow the operation of slot machines at the state's three pari-mutuel racetracks was approved Thursday by a Senate committee. The Altoona track (Iowa), financed by Polk County taxpayers, climbed out of bankruptcy a few years ago when it installed 1,100 slot machines after the Legislature approved expanded gambling. If tracks can't stop expanded Indian gaming, they want equal protection, slot machines of their own. The only way to revive horse racing in the longterm, they say, is to follow the lead of neighboring Delaware and permit slot machines at the tracks. Former Lt. Gov. Mark Singel, who is lobbying on behalf of the racetracks seeking to legalize 3000 slot machines, said the timing wasn't right last year. The owners of the Charles Town Races plan to build a hotel with up to 300 rooms, a 1,200-car parking garage and a 10,000-square-foot addition for slot machines. Recovering from near bankruptcy, the Mountaineer Racetrack prospers today. A decadelong increase in the number of video slot machines was the big ticket to success. Racetracks in West Virginia have hit the jackpot. . . All these new features are possible because of revenue brought in by video lottery machines. WV: The track, owned by Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Pa., started out with 400 machines in 1996, then expanded to 1,000. Last September, the track won permission to expand to 1,500 machines, and now it wants approval for 500 more. LIKE THE pushiest touts at trackside, the lobbyists for big-time gambling never stop working the phones and hallways of Annapolis to press for slot machines at the races. To save the tracks in Maryland, owners are seeking state help. Their favorite kind of help would be permission to bring in the slots, Kansas: . . commission Chairman Gene Olander asked officials to explain comments by co-owner Bill Grace that unless the Kansas Legislature approves a bill paving the way for legal slot machine gambling, the track would be closed. Seckington said he expects a bill to be introduced that would permit local option voting to allow slot machines at state-licensed tracks. The Woodlands' owners have sought for years to install slots and other casino games . . . "The two horse tracks couldn't remain open without some of the monies they get off video lottery," said the director of research at the Tax Department. The participation of a casino-gaming industry giant (Harrahs) and a state lottery operator (GTECH) in the purchase of Turfway Park has many people predicting a renewed effort to legalize slot machines at thoroughbred tracks in Kentucky. Del., slots gambling expansion will bring in players, cash. . . The new machines (machine total to 702) were installed in what was previously Midway's Simulcast Parlor. Churchill Downs, which is buying Calder Race Course in Miami for $86 million, has pushed to legalize video lottery terminals at racetracks in Kentucky. Profits for MTR Gaming Inc., parent of the Chester horse track and casino, nearly doubled during the three-month period that ended Sept. 30 with its additional 550 slot machines. . . Slot gambling now far overshadows horse race betting NM: SunRay brought slot machines, now allowed at race tracks by state law. Fairmount Park said Friday that lawmakers, give tax breaks or add video gambling to help the struggling racetrack. The track would welcome the addition of video poker or slot machines, said Brian Zander, vice president and general manager of Fairmount. The 1989 collapse of Brandywine in 1994 led to Delaware's legalizing slot-machine parlors at racetracks. The state now operates more than 3,900 slot machines at one thoroughbred and two harness tracks. . . .proposal ordering the state Horse Racing Commission to examine the possibility of casinos at three major racetracks could mean the beginning of the end of thoroughbred racing as we know it in Washington (Ore.). PA tracks lobby for slots Portland, Ore. has referendum initiative to permit video gambling at track. Ohio: the report, projected that video-gambling machines at the seven tracks could produce $778 million a year. NM: The foray into the casino business is benefiting the state's horse racetracks, which have generated about $66.7 million from slot machines over the past year. Adding 1,500 slot machines at Canterbury racetrack would be a voluntary tax, backers say. Polls show Minnesotans find this option the most acceptable of the choices. Maryland voters would decide next year whether to amend the state's Constitution to permit video slot machines at racetracks The issues included possible legalization of slot machines, changes in state racing taxes, and possible approval of account wagering, which allow gamblers to bet on horse and dog races via telephone or the Internet. New Hampshire is considering approving 3,000 racetrack slot machines. |
LegislationOppose SB 1010 Because Tracks Will Threaten To Shut Down