2002 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA
Executive Newsletter
A daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyond
Stanley F. Bergstein, Editor May 30, 2002
POMPANO SUES FLORIDA
As all concerned know, simulcasting plays a major
role in the life and times of race tracks these days.
So much so, in the case of Pompano Park, that the
track has filed suit against the state of Florida and
its Department of Business and Professional Regulations,
Division of Pari-Mutuel wagering, for forcing
the track and Gulfstream Park to suspend the
cross-breed simulcasting agreement the two tracks
had entered in March. The tracks had agreed to
exchange their live racing simulcasts and races
from other harness and thoroughbred tracks
across North America, and actually began the exchange
before the Division of Pari-Mutuel wagering
ordered them to stop, which they did.
Pompano’s general manager, Dick Feinberg, says,
“When we entered into our agreement with
Gulfstream Park, we thought we had a compelling
legal argument and clear statutory authority to
exchange signals. We continue to think so, and are
looking forward to our day in court.”
In another Florida development, the state’s governor,
Jeb Bush, pausing between visits to the oval
office of his better known brother to buy offshore
oil rights from wealthy companies, vetoed a measure
to help find homes for struggling greyhounds
(and at the same time extend gambling hours and
limits for Florida’s dog tracks). The bill started as
an aid to dog racing’s greyhound adoption program,
but also included expansion of card room
hours and the amounts that could be bet. Opponents
of greyhound racing, including members of
the Massachusetts-based Grey2K, objected loudly
to the measure and applauded the veto. A lobbyist
for south Florida dog tracks claimed the veto could
cause some tracks to close, but Bush said his decision
was consistent with his longstanding
view that an expansion of gambling is bad
public policy.
DOWN AND DIRTY IN ILLINOIS
The long awaited hearing over licensing or
nonlicensing of the Emerald Casino project in
Chicago’s suburban Rosemont finally got underway
yesterday, and lived up to its billing as a theater
for nastiness. Gaming board lawyers said
Emerald’s owners created “a virtual culture of dishonesty,”
and ensured the infiltration of organized
crime into its operation. A lawyer for the Emerald
group said the allegations of mob influence was
patently false, and called it “a shameless, outrageous,
vile allegation without any support whatsoever.”
He said the case was based on “abuse of
power, revenge, bias and profiteering.” And that
was just for openers. In a two-hour opening statement,
Emerald’s lawyer, Michael Ficaro, said
Emerald CEO Kevin Flynn and his father, former
Waste Management executive Donald Flynn,
should not be penalized because casino stock was
sold to two people allegedly linked to organized
crime. “Do we have to check out the guy who delivers
pizza to the construction site?” he asked
sarcastically. “After all, he might be associated
with someone who is associated with someone who
ate spaghetti with a member of organized crime.”
The Gaming Board’s lawyer, Robert E. Shapiro,
had a different view. “The evidence will reveal,”
he told administrative law judge Herbert L.
Holzman, who is conducting the hearing, “a corporate
culture so arrogant Emerald Casino never
found a regulation they felt they had to comply
with.”
HTA REPORTS ON LEGAL CASES
HTA’s May executive report, presenting five recent
legal developments of interest and importance
to all track executives, is online today in the members’
section of HTA’s Web site,
www.harnesstracks.com. The report, by HTA
general counsel Paul Estok, can be downloaded
from the site, but also is being mailed
to HTA directors and track legal counsel.