2005 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

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HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorHOW ABOUT ONE ON SHAWN?With the federal bankruptcy court hearing onVernon Downs just a week away, Shawn Scotthas run ads in the New York Post soliciting informationon his rival, real estate executive andharness racing owner-breeder Jeff Gural. Thead reads, “Have you dealt with Newmark & Co.or Jeff Gural? If you have experience negotiatingwith or doing business with either that youwould be willing to share, please contact Holly.”The 800 number given in the ad, according tothe Syracuse Post-Standard, rings to a voicemail, where a woman’s voice identifies herselfas Holly Lackey. A Scott associate works forthe Dallas law firm of Lackey Hershman. Guralmight consider running a similar ad asking forinformation on Scott. Might as well make thisfight interesting. Scott, still trying to get licensedin New York, reportedly will have anotherhearing Friday before the Racing and WageringBoard.While this was going on in New York, Scott’smother Victoria, a high stakes player herself,was in the news in Alaska. The Anchorage DailyNews reported that Ms. Scott, who has a residencein Anchorage, is sponsoring an initiativeto bring video poker to Alaska. The story saidshe and Shawn have worked together in the past,including in a company that sponsored the successfuleffort to bring slots to Bangor Raceway,but Ms. Scott told the Anchorage paper that thisproject is hers alone. Calling Shawn Scott’sdealings “profitable but checkered,” the DailyNews reported that “Victoria Scott bristled atthe mention of her son, saying she has run severalventures without him, including a chain ofvideo poker truck stops in Louisiana. ‘Theseproblems existed for him long before I got mytruck stop licenses,’ she said. ‘I don’tknow why you’re even bringing his nameinto this.’” The paper reported that Scott’sJuly 19, 2005original initiative draft was denied certificationearlier this year by Lt. Gov. Loren Leman followingan attorney general’s opinion. The AGruled the proposal was “not of statewide interest”since it allowed just one licensee to run afull blown gambling facility through 2008 by designatinga specific Anchorage parcel, a 670,824square-foot lot, roughly 15 acres, on which Ms.Scott holds an option -- as a “gaming district,”the only place a video lottery terminal facilitycould be located in Alaska. A revised initiative,now under review, would require the sponsorsto collect enough signatures to place it on the2006 ballot. The new proposal would allow upto five video poker machines in bars and pulltabparlors with voter approval of them and thecreation of new gaming districts. Only one in anyborough of more than 30,000 would be allowed.ACCOUNT BETS IN NV CASINOSThe Las Vegas Sun reports that Nevada gamingregulators have begun reviewing new regulationsthat would permit telephone betting accounts withNevada casinos to be opened by out-of-state bettors.The new rules were presented to the StateGaming Control Board for consideration last week.Recommendation there would lead to a hearingbefore the Nevada Gaming Commission before theout-of-state telephone accounts could be opened.FIRST YOUBET, NOW AUTOTOTEFirst it was Youbet, buying International RacingGroup in Curacao in February. Now Autotote Enterprises,a division of Scientific Games, hassigned a five-year deal to supply simulcast servicesat Tote Investments Racing Service simulcastcenters on the island of Barbados, at an estimatedvalue of $5 million for the five years.Autotote president Rick Pullman said he hopedthe deal would “extend the successes we haveenjoyed in our other recent Caribbeanlaunches in St. Croix and the Bahamas.”
HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorBATAVIA DOWNS BACK IN HTABatavia Downs, ready to return to live racingaction August 3, this time fortified by 586 VLTs,also is returning to HTA. The country’s oldestnight time pari-mutuel harness track, which wasfirst licensed in September of 1940, reopens withracing Wednesdays through Saturdays and a7:35 post time and a busy promotional schedule.HTA welcomes track president MartyBasinait back to its board of directors, andwishes him and his Western OTB managementteam the best of luck with the revitalized venture.KEY NYRA MAN OUT THE DOORThe Albany Times-Union reports today that theNew York Racing Association’s $200,000 a yearchief financial officer will be shown the door tomorrowmorning. CFO William Byrne would bethe fifth NYRA executive to get the boot in thelast week -- the racing secretary and director ofpersonnel preceded him -- but the Times-Unionalso reported that “a source familiar with NYRAbusiness affairs” said Byrne had renewed hiscontract just last month for another two years.The dismissals at NYRA come only days beforethe Getnick and Getnick law firm is scheduledto complete its monitoring report on NYRA,more than 18 months in the making, which willbe provided to a federal judge no later than Monday.A FUROR OVER CREDITThe announcement by Maryland governor RobertL. Ehrhlich yesterday that Maryland has gonefrom $1 billion in debt to a surplus of more than $1billion during his regime might be expected to generatejoy. Instead, the Democrats lashed out atthe Republican governor, giving credit for the turnaroundto everything from the weather tointerest rates and calling Erhlich’s claimsof credit “outrageous and bogus.” Obviously,nothing has changed in Maryland.July 20, 2005COMPUTER GLITCHES? C’MONThe NTRA, accused by some players that entrantshad past-posted selections in an online handicappingcontest, explained patiently that this was nottrue, and that several computer glitches had forcedNTRA to take down its leader board a number oftimes to correct computer malfunctions. We knowexactly what NTRA is talking about. One ofTucson’s famed monsoon lightning storms struckMonday night, and knocked our office modemclear into California. We were without Internetservice all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning,and hopefully by the end of this column a new modemwill have been installed. Glitches? You’redamn right. They happen.THE MEADOWS IS NEXTMagna Entertainment’s construction warroom, located in its headquarters in Aurora,Ontario, and called DreamWorks Stronach bythose who work there, is growing nervous asthe next Gulfstream season approaches, accordingto reports from Tom LaMarra in ThoroughbredTimes. Dennis Mills, MEC’s executiveVP, told LaMarra the company’s constructionguys “will be losing a lot of hair over thisone,” but predicted, “When we make this asuccess, others are going to see that the modernizationof the racetrack environment intoa multipurpose facility is working, and hopefullyothers will do the same.” The good news,from a harness racing point of view, is thatCharlie Thomas, an architect in MEC’s designdepartment, said that when Gulfstream is completeMagna’s focus then will turn to its HTAmember The Meadows, where the track willbe retrofitted with a racino. Whether the constructioncrews get Gulfstream finished in timefor racing is not the real issue in Florida.More important is if the state’s glaciallypaced legislators get off their butts andpass enabling slots regulations.
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2005 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

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