online craps casinos

Future of Racinos Remain Hazy

Posted on May 16th, 2011

News Sponsored by Go Casino

Rated 5 Stars by crapsonline.com

Read Review

Visit Casino

Download Software

————————————————

A bill that could help alleviate the state’s budget deficit problems took its flight Thursday. And it seemed it would be in for a rougher and hostile sky than expected. The Racino bill – which proposes the legalization of slot machines at the two horse racing tracks in the state – was plunged into the much-anticipated committee hearing and it looked like its future didn’t have a glimmer of light. No vote was casted for the approval of the bill, and now even its Republican backers aren’t certain of their chances on getting the bill pass towards either the House or the Senate. The bill’s unfortunate fate was due to the opposition of both sides of the House, citing different factors. A considerable count says it’s mainly because of the issues of morality the bill could most likely break into. Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, however, has another reason in mind.

“A lot of us complained about the federal government helping General Motors, and helping other entities and bailing things out. I don’t think it’s our job to bail out any industry,” he said. Howes is not sold to the idea of pitching the racino bill as a means of keeping the foundation of the horse industry intact. But no matter what reason the opposing forces have, one thing is for sure – the racino bill has been dillydallying as of the moment. Even a statement from Gov. Dayton saying he could manage to carry the bill under certain circumstances doesn’t improve its current chances much. An argument that significantly contributed to the unwillingness by many Republican legislative leaders to support the case of gambling revenues is the issue pertaining to the over-the-budget spending of the state government. Republicans insisted that the government should live realistically within the bounds of its financial capacity borders.

In result, the racino bill was revised this year to include dedicated funds that would generate job opportunities. $135 million in revenue is expected to be received by the Minnesota Future Fund every two years from the racino, according to the bill’s top supporter – Rep.Bob Gunther, R-Fairmont. Gunther is also the chairman of the House Jobs and Economic Development Finance Committee. In what he labeled as an informational hearing, the representative took almost an hour and a half to pitch a testimony regarding the bill. “Ever since I’ve been elected to this body, the amount of money has slowly been eroded for economic development, to the point right now that if we had street lights at the borders of our state, they would all be bright red coming in and bright green going out,” Gunther said.

The racino bill has another prominent supporter in former state senator Dick Day. Day resigned from his post in late 2009 to fully persuade the cause of the racino bill. With the way things are going for his supported aim, a sense of concern can’t be hidden in the former senator’s statements. “Come on, let’s get with it, people. Don’t be held up by 43 lobbyists at the Capitol. Please don’t,” Day said. “This state is out of money. We’re not saying to put it in the general fund. But please use it to restore the Capitol. Please do it to buy some books, early childhood. But the biggest thing is jobs.” People who are against racino however, are as equally concerned about jobs. Those include the Indian tribes who are the sole casino operators in Minnesota to date. Lake Superior Chippewa’s Fond du Lac band chairwoman and CEO Karen Diver has laid down her tribe’s concern of losing any of the 2,200 jobs currently provided by her company in northeastern Minnesota.

Rep. Gunther said after the hearing that the fate of the bill would still be debated and voted by committee members later on. But he isn’t confident enough that the bill would gain the needed votes for it to be pursued. Statements from the likes of Rep. Tim Mahoney of St.Paul – lead Democrat on the committee, explains why Gunther is holding his breath about racino’s chances. “I’ve always voted against the expansion of gambling in any way, shape or form. I’ve always believed that gambling harms our state,” said Mahoney. “And frankly, the tribal nations know I’d probably vote to take away gambling if I could.”