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Cover Stories Fall 2003 Colorado Initiative Seeking Video Slots for Racetracks Faces Strong Opposition Denver: The heavily funded battle for video lottery terminals at the state's four dog tracks and one horse track will be decided by voters Nov. 4. Under Amendment 33, as the ballot measure is known, the state Lottery Commission would be allowed to install 500 video slots at each of Colorado's four dog tracks in Loveland, Commerce City, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo, and the horse track in Aurora. Sen. Jack Taylor (R-Steamboat Springs), a key proponent of the initiative, said video slots could generate $66.5 million annually in state revenue. Of that amount, $25 million would be allocated to fund open space and park programs and promote tourism. The initiative campaign is being funded by British-based Wembley, which owns the horse track and three of the four dog tracks in the state. The ballot question is titled "Tourism Promotion." "This group, Wembley, has hijacked the tourism debate and they're using that as a means for what they really want, which is to turn their failing racetracks into casinos," said John Dill, chairman of Don't Turn Racetracks into Casinos. Midway through the increasingly heated debate over the ballot measure, the 22-count indictment against two Wembley executives [see cover story] broke in the Rocky Mountain News Sept.10. "This indictment goes to the core of what this company is about and how this company does business," Dill said. By mid-October, Wembley had raised $4.7 million and opponents of the measure had raised $3 million, making Amendment 33 the most expensive ballot initiative campaign in Colorado history. The mountain casinos in the towns of Black Hawk and Cripple Creek raised the bulk of the monies spent to oppose the initiative. A barrage of pro-33 television, radio, and print advertisements focuses on tourism and the economy, but makes no mention of video slots. Numerous organizations are opposed to the measure, including: the City Councils of Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Fort Collins, and Manitou Springs; Colorado Counties; Adams, Larimer, El Paso, and Jefferson County Commissions; Boulder, Denver, and Georgetown historic societies; County Sheriffs of Colorado; and the Denver Dumb Friends League, among others. The National Coalition Against
Legalized Gambling, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (ASPCA), the Humane Society of the United States, and GREY2K
USA (G2K) have mounted postcard campaigns urging their Colorado members
to vote no. An editorial opinion opposing the measure, co-written by G2K
president Carey Theil and ASPCA government affairs associate Jill Buckley,
was published in the Rocky Mountain News Oct. 6. |