Where are our Video Poker Machines?
By Mike Porcaro
I just love betting on live thoroughbred horse racing, and I offer absolutely no apology to those who think ill of this practice.
I bet horses at Arlington, Fairmount and Hawthorne. When I’m in Indiana, Iowa or Minnesota, I play tracks there. I’ve been to Del Mar, Hollywood and Santa Anita, Belmont and the Meadowlands, Woodbine, Keeneland, Gulfstream and Fairgrounds. I go to the Kentucky Derby every year and most years to the Breeders Cup.
But I’m only one man and just can’t single-handedly support the entire horse racing industry myself! So I need help, and I’m not above asking for it.
I’ve been following Kentucky’s fight for Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) and in many ways their battle is not much different than ours in Illinois where I live. An advocate of VLTs in the Bluegrass state is Ray Paulick, who publishes a daily electronic racing newsletter called The Paulick Report (www.PaulickReport.com).
In nearly every recent edition, Paulick states his case for
supporting VLTs at Kentucky racetracks, and I find his opinions not
far from mine. For example, Paulick said “All of this new (casino)
competition has had an enormous effect on horse racing. Many state
legislatures have recognized the competitive imbalance the racing
industry faced and enacted measures to ‘level the playing field.’
“Furthermore he states, “VLTs, slot machines or casino wagering has
become an economic necessity for racetracks across America.”
Paulick calls the states whose tracks have or will install VLTs and slots the ‘have’ states. These are states with horse racing, including Iowa, Indiana, Delaware, West Virginia, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Florida, New York and Maryland. Revenues are shared between state governments, racetracks and horsemen.
And the “have-nots”, as Paulick calls them, racing states like Illinois, California and Kentucky? Well, our tracks, breeding programs and horsemen continue to be shortchanged.
And here’s an example of what’s happening in the Land of Lincoln.
In July, Illinois Gov. Quinn signed a $31 billion capital bill to finance much needed road and bridge building, and other important infrastructure projects. Much of the funding for this gynormous bill, an estimated $367 million per year, will come from video poker machines with up to five machines allowed in any business that serves alcohol. Yet not one of those machines is destined for an Illinois racetrack nor will a track share in any of the revenue.
And here’s the sharp pebble that’s stuck in my shoe. Amidst the pomp at the signing ceremony for the capital bill, Quinn said “This is a crucial economic recovery initiative that will generate what’s needed most in Illinois: jobs, jobs, jobs.”
Oh yeah? What about the “Over 37,000 direct and related jobs (that) are attributed to the racing industry—from blacksmiths to barn builders, caretakers to corn growers, pedigree readers to public relation firms, trainers to trucking firms, and the list goes on.” By the way, this quote comes directly from an official state of Illinois Web site.
So I guess we’ll just have to watch poker machines that will be located at your local Bar & Grill suck wind out of the sails of those people employed in the horse racing industry in Illinois.
Five poker machines allowed per venue? C’mon. Thousands of machines can be installed in all major racetracks in relative short order. In any of our fine track facilities alone, you can probably install more video poker machines than can be put in all the alcohol-serving restaurants in many major Chicago, St. Louis-area and suburbs combined! Illinois racing venues offer a pleasant atmosphere, are centrally located and are known quantities to their biggest customers, GAMBLERS!
Am I just another whining horse owner who wants my fair share? Hell yes, I am. My partners and I have put our money where our mouths are and have taken the huge leap of faith by investing thousands of dollars in something that supports the racing industry, as well as the businesses surrounding the tracks.
I’m also a tax payer who wants safe roads and bridges and well-funded schools, but I also want to see an industry that supports close to 40,000 jobs to prosper rather than suffer a slow death. Putting video poker machines in our racetracks will expedite that important funding so it gets to work much faster for the greater good.
What seems sillier to me is that in recent weeks 20 key jurisdictions throughout Illinois have outlawed video poker. These include Naperville, the state’s 4th largest city, and Rosemont, located near O’Hare Airport, and laden with hotels and the state’s second most-trafficked convention center. What’s more, the Boards of the two most populous counties in Illinois, Cook and DuPage, turned down machines for their unincorporated areas, and with casinos already existing in Aurora, Illinois’ second most populated city, and Elgin, and a soon to be casino in Des Plaines, where will these machines go?.
So what happens if enough jurisdictions ban the machines and the state falls short of revenue goals? Will that finally drive video poker to our racetracks where they belong, and where they will provide for the best of both worlds: funding for the capital bill, as intended, and much needed revenue for the racing industry?
As a betting man, I’ll wager now that if enough counties, towns, villages and cities turn down video poker machines, someone in Springfield will finally recognize that racetracks will continue to be the best solution of all today and for years to come.
Waiting for something to happen isn’t enough, as all horsemen here know. So we need to keep banging the drums for change about this important issue, and continue the dialogue among ourselves and with legislators until the time comes when they will see the common sense of it all.
See you in the paddock! … 
Mike Porcaro is co-publisher & editorial director of Midwest Thoroughbred. Porcaro can be reached via email mike@mwtmag.com