2005 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorKEY SLOTS VOTE IN NJThe Senate Tourism and Gaming Committee ofthe New Jersey legislature has scheduled a voteThursday on a proposal to place 1,500 to 2,000VLTs at the Meadowlands. Regardless of theSenate committee vote, Democratic leaders in theAssembly have vowed to block the measure, whichis vigorously supported by Gov. Richard J. Codey.Codey believes VLTs at the track could generate$150 million for the state, noting that New Jerseyalready faces slots competition from New York,but Atlantic City casinos have thrown their moneyand clout behind the effort to defeat Codey’s proposal.REALITY REPLACES RHETORICAfter some earlier rhetoric castigating potentialinvestors in Vernon Downs for not putting up$38 million or so to buy the track, horsemen’scounsel Joe Faraldo told the horsemen this weekthat “there’s very little we can do” and theywould have to resign themselves to waiting forwhatever is going to happen. “Unless we have$38 million to buy this joint,” he said in a meetingwith Vernon’s horsemen, “there’s very littlewe can do. This is your reality. This is whatyou’re stuck with here. Absent someone comingup with the money to buy this place, I don’tsee this place getting a license. I think you’rebetter off knowing the truth. While Shawn Scottowns 52% in this corporation or even more than10%, this corporation is not going to get a racinglicense. It’s not going to get a simulcastinglicense. It’s not going to get anything. It’ll takea removal of Scott’s interest.” Real estate magnateJeff Gural, meanwhile, says the cost of reopeningVernon has risen from $8 or $9 millionto $15 million, but says he still is interested inbuying the track and its racino. Gural has submitteda plan to bring Vernon out ofbankruptcy, which is to be heard by thejudge handling the case next month.June 7, 2005HARRAH’S BREAKS GROUNDHTA’s new member Harrah’s Chester Casino andRacetrack, broke ground yesterday, and Harrah’sEntertainment president and CEO Gary Lovemanbacked his commitment to Chester with a checkfor $500,000 for job training and development inthe economically depressed waterfront city. Callingit “The Harrah’s Chester Challenge,” Lovemansaid the community development initiative wasdesigned to support the acquisition of job skillsand training that will enable Chester residents tofully benefit from the new jobs that will be createdas a result of Pennsylvania’s gaming legislation.The check, payable to the Delaware CountyWorkforce Investment Board, is expected to beearmarked for not-for-profit and government organizationsthat are dedicated to helping educateand train Delaware county residents, includingUnited Way, the Delaware Office of Employmentand Training, and the Opportunities IndustrializationCenter.Loveman said, “Gaming has helped produce dramaticeconomic turnarounds in communities acrossAmerica, and we expect similar results from ourproject in Chester.” Pennsylvania governor EdRendell, harness racing commissioner Ed RogersJr., state senators and other dignataries attendedthe groundbreaking.COULD TEXAS BE OVERRATED?If nothing else, its legislature could be. Newspapershave blasted the legislature for its do-nothingrecord in the session recently concluded, andFt. Worth Star-Telegram racing writer Gary West,was one of the voices, saying the legislators quit“without tossing so much as a crumb toward horseracing.” Hope springs eternal, however, and LoneStar Park and TRA president Corey Johnsonthinks the industry had the votes to pass VLTs,but “ran out of time” according to West’s story.He quoted Johnson as saying, “I think wecan accomplish this.”>>