HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA Executive Newsletter

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorThursday, April 1, 2010NO DELAWARE CASINO VOTEThe bill to expand casinos in Delaware beyondthe three currently at HTA members DoverDowns and Harrington Raceway and DelawarePark died last night -- at least for the present --when the sponsor of the bill pulled it, lacking the21 votes needed to pass. The measure -- HouseBill 194 -- will at best be delayed while Delawarelawmakers enjoy a two-week Easter break. Themeasure drew nine amendments in yesterday’sdiscussion, including some to kill it, and Rep.Greg Lavelle, a Republican sponsor, doomedthe proposal when he said he was unhappy withit as amended by House majority leader PeteSchwartzkopf, a Democrat. Schwartzkopf sayshe will regroup during the recess and return todo battle again. Bobby Byrd, a former lawmakerand adviser to former governor Ruth Ann Minner,lobbying for Dover Downs, agreed, saying,“The way the General Assembly works, very seldomare bills ever dead, They get tabled. Theyget put in committee. They get postponed.”Even if passed in the House after the recess, thebill faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.ROSECROFT BILL ALSO SHAKYAlthough the president of the state Senate andthe senator representing Rosecroft’s districtsupport legislation that would bring poker andother table games to the track, a House legislatorfrom Rosecroft’s district who also favors passagesays she thinks “the odds of it coming out ofthe House are slim.” An earlier bill proposed bythat House member, Rep. Kris Valderrama, wasfavored by only 12 of the county’s 23 delegates.A legislator who opposes cards for Rosecroft,Doyle Niemann, was quoted by Gazette.Net, anonline service of Maryland newspapers in Rosecroft’sarea, as saying, “It’s way too early to beexpanding gambling when we haven’t evenworked out slots.” Jobs could be an issue.Rosecroft, even without live racingbut with simulcasting, employs over 200.TABLE GAMES ALIVE IN MAINEUncertainty apparently is the key word of theday everywhere. A key first vote in the MaineHouse yesterday kept chances alive for tablegames at HTA member Hollywood Slots inBangor. The issue was saved for the momentby incorporating a proposal for Indian gamingwith that of Hollywood, in a single questionrather than as separate entities. A thirdgroup, Black Bear Entertainment, LLC, seekingto build a resort casino in Oxford county,distant from Bangor, supports the Hollywood-Passamaquoddy Indian accord, which offersstatewide appeal instead of regional disputes.THE NUMBERS GAMEBATAVIA DOWNS set new records last weekendwith the giveaway of a 2010 Camaro featuredin a daylong “Muscle or Money” contest.Records set include attendance of 6,107 andbetting of $3.155 million, with the profits fromthe 605 VLT’s averaging over $400/machine.Bettors and buyers at WOODBINE were ona tear last week, producing an $18,125 superfecta,a $4,838 Pick 4 payout from a pool of$45,780.66, a win payoff of $91.90, an averagePick 4 pool of $32,106. Also, two claims weredropped, one for $50,000 and the other for$40,000, for pacers on Saturday.Need a loan? Try CHINA. Development ofthe Baha Mar Resort in the Bahamas has beenstalled in financing. After two years negotiatinglocally, and Baha Mar wound up yesterdayannouncing signing of a deal with Beijing’s Export-Importbank and contracts with China’sstate-owned construction corporation for $2.5billion financing for a huge entertainmentcomplex on Nassau’s Cable Beach.