IF KY SLOTS BILL PASSES HOUSE: WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
UPDATE: Frankfort insiders say that the A & R Senate Committee will not meet until Monday and Senate President Williams will allow the bill to be heard. Interested parties will have the weekend and Monday morning to contact their Senators.
If the bill to approve video lottery terminals for Kentucky racetracks passes the state’s House of Representatives during the special session on Friday, the next battleground will likely be the Senate’s Appropriations and Revenue Committee later in the day. That’s the most likely scenario for the bill, the Paulick Report has learned from sources. Republican Senate president David Williams, an opponent of the bill, is expected to send it to the A & R Committee with the likelihood that it will be killed under the chairmanship of northeast Kentucky Republican Charlie Borders.
Interested parties are encouraged to personally attend the Senate committee meeting.
If you are unable to attend and want your opinion to be heard on the issue, call members of the committee to tell them where you stand. Click here for a list of members of the Senate A & R Committee. Once on the page, click on the names of the individual members to get contact information.
Charlie Borders (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 676
Tags: charlie borders, david williams, kentucky legislature, kentucky slots, kentucky special session, Paulick Report, racinos, Ray Paulick, vlts
June 19th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Slot machines – Yes, that’s the answer!
I can’t think of a clearer sign of the disastrous state of the U.S. racing industry, and the incompetent “leadership” that has been largely responsible for the recent, precipitous decline, than this quote from the CEO of Churchill Downs:
“Tracks without (video) slots are going to struggle mightily, there’s no way around that,” Bob Evans told about 200 people who attended the company’s annual shareholders meeting at Churchill Downs.
***
Rather than addressing the core problems facing the industry, and coming up with creative ways to stop the bleeding and attract new and bigger bettors into the game, Evans is essentially saying that racetracks can’t survive without subsidies from another, unrelated form of gambling.
Rather than making the powerful point that gamblers who put time into learning about Thoroughbred racing can actually make money, as opposed to those who lose consistently by playing games of pure chance (e.g. slot machines), Evans makes appeals for subsidies that contribute nothing to the repair of deep structural problems in the industry.
Truly pathetic.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
“Truly pathetic.” That is putting it mildly.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I have a small farm, around 20 mares and I also have an Insurance Agency that pertains primarily to equine products. Both are suffering horribly. I employ around 20 people across these 2 businesses and pay bills to countless more. None of them nor I was involved in amassing all the competition we have from the states surrounding us. It has been ignored and now they are on our doorstep. Despite YEARS of warnings about this, we were left to fend for ourselves. This isn’t something that we would like to have happen, it is a necessity at this point just to level the playing field. This just isn’t the racetracks, this is the entire industry. What is pathetic, is people running their mouth without having all the facts or making comments and observations without being in the trenches fighting for their lives.
By the way, I have been doing this and paying my taxes in Kentucky since 1981. Why don’t you check your big mouth in down here at my office or farm and I’ll show you what the real story is. Just give me a call 859-221-9878
June 19th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Lynn,
Your problems, and those that face the industry, have virtually nothing to do with competition from states that are receiving subsidies from slot machines. They are systemic, and are a result of the industry being fractured into many myopic, self-interested components (of which small breeders are one), and an utter lack of vision and leadership on the part of those in power (e.g. racetrack owners and management).
One of the principal, long-standing problems has been a terrible dilution of the product. And like it or not, the only way that the U.S. racing industry will survive – let alone thrive – is for there to be continued attrition of racetracks and breeders, until the product is of sufficient quality to stand on its own. How do you think the NBA, NFL, or MLB would fare if they had 250 teams each, with only one top-class player on each team? Their business models would collapse.
Now, it is a shame that a lot of smaller players (e.g. breeders, trainers, etc.) like yourself will suffer as a result of any serious restructuring, but the situation is very closely analogous to what it going on with the U.S. auto industry, and unless some painful steps are taken, the industry will continue to decline.
Finally, if you want to seriously debate the matter, your arguments will carry greater force if you dispense with the unnecessary and ignorant personal attacks.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Yeah, ok, it’s truly pathetic. Racing shouldn’t need slots. It should be better managed. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Recriminations won’t change the dire situation Lynn Jones is describing.
The reasons for racing’s current decline - mismanagement, cronyism, lack of imagination, lack of creativity, complacency, etc., etc. - can all be addressed eventually and I hope they will be.
But whatever I or anyone else may hope for the future, KY racing needs the slots revenue NOW.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Noelle,
Have you ever given any thought to the “dire situations” that those who throw their money away on slot machines often find themselves in? In other words, not only will slot machines fail to do anything to help the racing industry in any meaningful sense, but they will contribute to the degradation of countless lives.
Once again, the myopia displayed by many people in this industry is astounding.
The notion that KY (or NY, etc.) simply needs a quick infusion of dollars from slots is sheer nonsense. There is no evidence that the major industry players are seriously tackling structural problems – they’re basically attempting to pad next quarter’s bottom-line. And what slots will do is DECREASE, rather than increase the urgency to deal with the deep problems facing the industry.
It would be far better if the real problems were dealt with now, given a lack of any short-term “fix”, rather than having the powers that be breathe sighs of relief because their bonuses remain intact thanks to a slot machine band-aid.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Jeremey you talk like someone who only knows the industry from afar. We need this before it is to late, as it is already to late from some.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Jeremy is correct. Racing has to adjust it’s business model to fit the current economic climate. I mean the long term business prospects of racing with competition from other forms of gambling. It must be priced accordingly. Lower takeouts, cover, information, etc. Scavenging for crumbs from slot machines may not be sustainable. If slot income declines, what then? Subsidize slot payoffs from horse bets? Take income from other succesfull endevours and redistribute it to breeders and owners?
June 19th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Picksburg Phil wrote:
Lower takeouts, cover, information, etc.
Scavenging for crumbs from slot machines may not be sustainable.
Of course it not sustainable.
After three years of slots and the novelty wears off - what then?
Will Churchill go to a 3 or 4 day week to simulate the racing package being presented at Delaware Park ? Slots hasn’t delivered on the promises after more than a decade.
Why should it be “the solution” for Kentucky?
And why the continual disregard for the betting patron?
The one who has fueled the purses and track overhead and executives salaries for decades.
Time to get back to the basics.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Your horse players stay in place. The slots bring in new audience and maybe convert when they realize you can make money gambling on horses. Its a win win for Kentucky. But you have to have quality horses to gamble on to make money. Horses that you can count on. Not cheap claimers.
June 19th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Jeremy - I’d be interested to see any reliable data supporting your claim that slots cause “the degradation of countless lives.” How many lives is that exactly? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? Where’s your proof?
If rational adults choose to spend their money on slot machines, I believe that’s a choice they’re entitled to make for themselves. The temperance movement managed to outlaw alcohol because some percentage of drinkers become alcoholic - prohibition certainly didn’t end alcoholism. Likewise, it makes no sense to reject the support slots can provide right now to the struggling KY horse industry just because some people are compulsive gamblers.
Rather than disincentivizing change, I would hope that slots revenue would buy the industry some time in which to remake itself.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
People who enjoy gambling for whatever reason will gamble. Seems to me that slots won’t increase the “degradation of countless lives”, but it will keep the money of existing gamblers in Kentucky rather than draining it off to other states.
I do agree that this is a stop-gap measure and racing needs to address the major issues NOW. This is buying time at best.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Noelle –
Frankly, if you are truly skeptical that games of pure chance, such as slots and lotteries, degrade the lives of a meaningful number of those who play them, then you’d be well-suited to working for the American Gaming Association. Let’s put it in its simplest terms: the house has a clear advantage in such games, therefore the vast majority of those who gamble on them lose money, and a meaningful subset of that group loses more money than they can afford to lose.
The crucial, and in this case ironic distinction between racing and the above-mentioned games, is that it is entirely possible to make money consistently when betting on Thoroughbreds. The latter also challenges the mind, and rewards those who think seriously and effectively, while the former does nothing of the sort. In fact, only a tiny percentage of those who are attracted to pulling levers and pushing buttons on video slot machines will ever become serious contributors to the Thoroughbred industry, as the two are so fundamentally different.
Now, if the industry were to target poker players instead, that would create an opportunity to develop substantial new revenues.
I have no interest in legislating against citizens’ rights to gamble their money away. In fact, we should all be allowed to buy marijuana legally as well. But slapping a band-aid over the U.S. racing industry’s gaping wound is a mistake, and that mistake would be compounded given the added social costs which will be incurred as a result of the quick-fix.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Does anyone else find it ironic that Sen. Williams frequents Indiana casinos, but won’t support them in his state? Can you say hypocrite? Or maybe there’s something far more sinister at play.. maybe he has a vested interest in keeping competition for those casinos at bay? How else can you explain his stubborn opposition to this bill? It can’t be for moral reasons.. see above. How is it the legislators who are trying to kill the bill represent the eastern part of the state. They don’t have a dog in the fight, so to speak, so they seem to care less about the rest of Kentucky. If I can’t have it neither can you sort of thing. I don’t know if slots are the silver bullet for racing, but I for one want to give it a shot before we see another industry collapse. The implications cut too deep. If racing can’t clean up it’s act and survive with slots, then so be it.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
The Kentucky Thoroughbred Industry certainly has its share of problems. But sending it out of state is not the solution. Nor is closing it down until only a few races with the top horses are left. What is next? Perhaps we should only have racing on Kentucky Derby Day and maybe Oaks Day? If racing is not saved before it is too late then we won’t have to worry about it anymore because it will be gone. We will be trying to close the barn door after the horse has run out. People, Horse Racing is what makes Kentucky great. If we lose it then we lose a large part of what makes Kentucky such a special place to live. This is a no-brainer. Pass the slots legislation of face the consequences in the next election. I would not want to be the politician who let the Horse Industry go down on my watch.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
I stonrgly urge this bill to be passed..Just take a look at the statistics from the following racetracks…Hoosier Park,Indiana Downs,Mountaineer,and Philadelphia Park to name a few.It’s a no brainer!!!
June 20th, 2009 at 10:42 am
I’m a 49 year old responsible adult. I enjoy going to the races when I get a chance.
I also enjoy going to Las Vegas and Indiana when I get a chance. My son and his
wife have gone to Indiana several times. They even took their in-laws to Indiana for
the weekend. Why not keep the money from video slots in KY and help the horse racing industry in KY.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Do breeders really care where the money for increased purses comes from? If not, seperate from the slot pushers and tell KEEP to get a new horse or you’ll continue to lose this battle.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am
If we looked at the “stats” (e.g. handle) from Hoosier, Indiana Downs, Mountaineer, and Philadelphia, you’d realize how good we have it in Kentucky. Not to mention the security of knowing that the state will not take back revenue meant for purses to fill budget gaps, as was the case in West Virginia a few years ago.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Looks a lot like the comments on this issue are being supplied by the Senate majority. Same arguments.