Lincoln horse race is a farce

Local View: Lincoln horse race is a farce

August 20, 2015 11:57 pm  •  BY PAT LOONTJER

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I found it very interesting that the Lincoln Race Course is so proud to announce its one day a year of horse racing in order to keep its simulcast license. They should be ashamed of themselves for bragging about this farce.

Nebraska horse tracks are the only business in the state allowed to gamble on simulcast races in other states. They were given that privilege years ago under the guise that they would use the profits to hold horse races and thus “save the horses.” Well, that never happened, and now they are back, saying they need slots to “save the horses.” When will the gambling industry admit that they don’t give a hoot about the horses and just want to use them to line their own pockets with gambling dollars?

Just look at what happened to our neighbor, Iowa. The gambling industry cried that they needed slots to “save the dogs.” They got the slots, but just last year a Council Bluffs casino announced it was losing $9 million a year keeping dog racing alive. They offered their Legislature millions to let them off the hook, dump the dogs and continue to make a fortune on slots. Proponents of the change said it was time for the dogs to go, as they are a dying breed. The same thing will happen to the poor horses that are being used as pawns in the Nebraska scenario.

A one- or two-day race season in Lincoln and Omaha is not live horse racing. The Racing Commission no longer exists to support live horse racing. They are working to transform horse tracks into other forms of gambling, like simulcasting and, their dream, slot machine parlors. This is not good for live horse racing or for Nebraska. The state racing commission fears its own end, since horse racing has effectively ended in Nebraska due to lack of public interest. 

“Give us the slots, and we’ll create jobs and save the horses,” they promise. Don’t bet on it! What it will do is increase gambling addiction, which in turn destroys families and legitimate businesses. Do we need more crime, more embezzlements, more divorces and more suicides? NO.

The Racing Board officials in Nebraska also announced that they will be back in the Legislature next year to try to get the “Historic Horse Racing Machines” put on the ballot. Remember that these are the same “Dead Horse Slot Machines” that have been defeated year after year. Rest assured, if they are coming back, then so will we. Gambling With the Good Life has protected Nebraska families and businesses against expanded gambling successfully for the past 20 years, and we are not about to give up now.

Pat Loontjer is executive director of Gambling With the Good Life, an organization that has been working against expanded gambling since 1995.

http://journalstar.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists/local-view-lincoln-horse-race-is-a-farce/article_cd4ef4f5-2bbb-543f-a7d8-a07820dd3280.html

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Florida asks appeals court to reconsider slot machine case

Bondi asks appeals court to reconsider slot machine case

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 
Published: June 12, 2015

TALLAHASSEE – Calling it a “monumental change,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi today asked an appeals court to reconsider a far-reaching ruling that could lead to slot machines at several dog and horse tracks.

The 1st District Court of Appeal last month ordered state regulators to award a license for slot machines to a facility in the small town of Gretna, 25 miles west of Tallahassee. The ruling stated regulators should have approved slot machines because voters in Gadsden County approved a referendum authorizing them.

The ruling was decided by a 2-1 margin, but Bondi’s office wants the entire 15-member court to review the case.

If left unchallenged, the decision could have wide impact: Voters in Lee, Brevard and Palm Beach counties as well as the north Florida counties of Hamilton and Washington have approved similar referendums. Slot machines are currently limited to south Florida tracks and casinos run by the Seminole Tribe.

Allen Winsor, the state’s solicitor general, argued in a court filing that the appeals judges misinterpreted state law.

“According to the panel majority, the Legislature intended to allow this jaw-dropping gambling expansion without any further action,” wrote Winsor.

State regulators had turned down the slot machine request due to a legal opinion by Bondi, who maintained slot machines were only allowed at tracks in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Voters in 2004 approved a constitutional amendment that authorized slot machines in the two counties.

Court ruling could bring slot machines to Brevard County

WFTV - Orlando, FL

Creek Entertainment Gretna opened the track in December 2011 featuring the rodeo-style sport of barrel racing. The facility offers flat track horse racing as well as poker rooms and betting on races held at other tracks. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation turned down a request for slot machines in late 2013.

Appeals Judge Robert Benton wrote last month that regulators did not base their denial on any errors or omission in the application and instead relied on Bondi’s interpretation. He said Gadsden County was allowed to hold the referendum under a wide-ranging law passed by legislators that authorized a current agreement with the Seminole Tribe that allows them to operate card games such as blackjack.

Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican, had pushed to have legislators review the ruling during an ongoing special session. But Bradley, whose committee oversees gambling issues, said today that legislative leaders decided to keep the special session focused on the state budget.

The decision could likely wind up before the Florida Supreme Court. The appeals judges in their decision asked the high court to review the case.

http://tbo.com/news/florida/bondi-asks-appeals-court-to-reconsider-slot-machine-case-20150612/

Fla. Court Urged To Revisit Slot Machine Ruling

Law360 (subscription)

A split panel ruled in May that a 2009 amendment to the Florida Constitution expands a statute which had limited slot machine gaming to Miami-Dade ...