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
Paul Joseph Estok, Editor
SLOTS OPPOSITION FROM A.C.
It’s always something.... First, it was casino taxes
and Internet gambling. Now it’s the possibility of
slot machines at the Meadowlands Racetrack
causing Atlantic City casino officials and politicians
to rally in defense of their monopoly on machines.
“We’re stating our opposition that this is not in
the best interest of Atlantic City or New Jersey,”
said Timothy Wilmott, president of the Casino
Association of New Jersey. “Slot machines at
tracks don’t create jobs or the type of development
that supports an economy. It puts at risk the $350
million that the state gets from the industry in the
Casino Revenue Fund.
Senators Joseph Suliga and Richard Codey, who
introduced the Meadowlands Gaming Control Act
on Sept. 30, said they proposed the bill allowing
3,000 slot machines at the Big M in order to aid
the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
(NJSEA). The bill could be enacted only after a
referendum to change the state’s constitution. Bills
in the New Jersey Assembly and Senate would put
such an amendment on the ballot at an unspecified
date.
The slot machine legislation, Senate Bill 1907,
would allow the Meadowlands Racetrack to
operate machines from eight in the morning until
midnight any day the track has live or simulcast
racing. The slots would not be subject to the eight
percent state casino tax or the 1.25 percent Casino
Reinvestment Development Authority tax. The
Division of Gaming would be responsible for all
regulation, including the functions typically handled
by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
“I am adamantly opposed to it,” Atlantic City-area
Sen. William Gormley said of the bills.
“We do want to see the tracks viable, but
not at the expense of Atlantic City.” Suliga
countered that Meadowlands slots would
October 25, 2002
actually help Atlantic City by forcing casinos to
become more responsive to patrons. “The
problem I have with Atlantic City is it is such a
monopoly,” Suliga said. “Older people are treated
like herded cattle.... This bill encourages
competition and it solves a major economic
problem for the State of New Jersey. Suliga noted
he expects the Economic Growth, Agriculture and
Tourism Committee of the state senate to hear the
bill next month.
Assemblymen Albio Sires and Joseph Roberts
sponsored the Assembly bill to put the issue to a
statewide vote. Roberts noted that racetrack slots
are legal in three nearby states and are being
discussed in two others. “We have a real obligation
in New Jersey to preserve the casino industry,”
Roberts said. “On the other hand, we need to do
something to keep the horse racing industry alive.”
CLOSED-LOOP LICENSE IN NEV.
The Nevada Gaming Commission agreed Thursday
to grant a limited license to a company that
has developed a closed-loop system for betting on
horse races. The 18-month license was granted to
Virtigame Corp. after Bruce Merati, who heads
the San Diego-based technology company, said he
hopes to have signed deals for the system with
several Nevada casino race books by early next
year. Under Virtigame’s closed-loop system, bettors
can use personal computers or PCs in casinos
to place bets on races at tracks around the country,
rather than standing in line to place bets with
tellers. Bettors also would have a preapproved
credit line for what Merati termed a “cashless”
system that uses a network but is not linked in
any way to the Internet. Commissioners asked
about possible Internet links, but Merati said the
company only wanted a closed-loop system
because it can be better protected and controlled.