HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA Executive Newsletter

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA
In Massachusetts, Deval Patrick is not worried
about racing, but about the state losing casino
revenue to Indian tribes. Preparing for his coming
battle with opposing legislators at a Boston
hearing on March 18, his 12-page color brochure
uses the threat of a tribal casino to scare
the troops into line. He has gone so far as to
ask the Mashpee Wampanoags, the leading contender
for a casino, to waive any and all rights
under the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,
a move that Jonathon Witten, an adjunct professor
at Boston College Law School who teaches
American Indian Law, calls “outrageous.” Witten
says a tribe cannot -- nor should it -- be asked
to waive sovereign rights. “It’s highly doubtful
the secretary of the interior would allow it, and
with all due respects to the governor, he doesn’t
have that power,” he was quoted. One legislator,
Rep. David Flynn, a supporter of slots at tracks,
told Capecodtoday, “The casino bill isn’t going
anywhere.” He predicted it won’t even come up
for a vote, saying, “I find very little support for it
from members of the House.”
In Ohio, Ted Strickland, a governor who wrecked
racing’s chances to get slots because he opposes
the expansion of gambling, is allowing the state
lottery to add keno to its menu on July 1, further
endangering the welfare of a major Ohio agricultural
industry. Ohioans will be able to play a new
game every four minutes at any establishment
that has onsite alcohol consumption. Northfield
Park is losing no time capitalizing on the opportunity,
building a $350,000 sportsbar and lounge
area that will take up between one-quarter and
one-third of its grandstand ground floor.
It will be deluxe, under chairman Brock
Milstein’s direction and guidance.
Executive Newsletter
A daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyond
Stanley F. Bergstein, Editor
March 10, 2008
THE GOV GOVERNS YOUR FATE In Illinois, slots are still close to the surface, despite
haggling between Gov. Rod Blagojevich
This is hardly a hot news item, but it is being
confirmed daily, wherever horses race.
and the legislature. A Blagojevich spokeswoman,
Abby Ottenhoff, said in an e-mail to the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch, “We’re open to legislators’
ideas, but at the conclusion of last year, it seemed
clear that we’d all be spinning our wheels to stay
focused on gaming expansion to fund the capital
plan.” Although it has been sidelined for the
moment, Rep. Lou Lang, a longtime proponent
from the Chicago suburb of Skokie, says, “I don’t
think it’s really gone away.” Casino business in
the Chicago area, at least in northwest Elgin, has
been underwhelming. The Grand Victoria Casino
there has suffered 20% declines in business in
both January and February. Elgin received $24
million from the casino last year, and if the drastic
drops continue it figures to get a little more
than $19.5 million this year.
In Maryland, Gov. Martin O’Malley is facing the
realities of hard times. In the past he has called
slots a poor way to finance government, but in an
interview with C. Fraser Smith of the Baltimore
Sun he now says, “In a more perfect world we
wouldn’t have slots. But one of the inescapable
facts that most of us have come to accept over
the last few years is that a lot of Maryland money
does leave Maryland for the coffers of Pennsylvania,
Delaware and West Virginia. I think,
unfortunately, it’s a sort of ‘can’t beat ‘em, join
‘em.’”
TRACK BOSSES PLEASE NOTE
Your track should have received two important
surveys last week. One is the HTA dues survey
needed for dues allocation. The other is the wagering
survey which the HTA board unanimously
voted to provide. Please have your action officer
or the applicable person at your track complete
and return them to the HTA office as soon
as possible.