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Cover Stories Winter 2003-04 Colorado Voters
Overwhelmingly Reject Racetracks' Initiative for Video Slots Denver: Amendment 33, an initiative on the statewide Nov. 4 ballot that would have allowed the operation of 2,500 video lottery terminals at the state's four dog tracks and the horse track in Aurora, failed by a four-to-one margin; there were 723,265 (81 percent) votes against and 171,988 (19 percent) votes in favor. "Coloradans said no to gambling in our major cities," said John Dill, chairman of Don't Turn Racetracks into Casinos, the leading opponent of the anti-33 campaign. "Yes, Wembley was hurt by the fact it's been indicted in Rhode Island," Dill said, adding that he believed voters disliked the idea that much of the profit would have gone to Wembley. A legislative analysis of the ballot measure predicted it would have raised about $150 million in its first full year of operation, with about $59 million going to track operators. Political analyst and pollster Floyd Cirula said Nov. 5 that the indictments "created baggage that was very heavy" for Wembley to carry. "Advertising can seldom overcome news coverage, especially high-profile coverage with headlines about bribery," he said. The initiative campaign was the most expensive in the state's history with a combined total of $10.2 million spent by both sides. It also was the fourth time Coloradans rejected an expansion of casino style gambling since 1990, when voters approved limited-stakes poker, blackjack, and slot machines in the former mining towns of Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek. London-based Wembley owns three
of the state's four greyhound tracks and one horse track through its U.S.
subsidiary Wembley USA: Post Time in Colorado Springs, Wembley Park (formerly
Mile High) in Commerce City, and Pueblo Greyhound Park and the Arapahoe
horse track in Aurora. The company also owns Lincoln Park in Rhode Island,
its most profitable U.S. operation. In 2002, Lincoln Park generated 80
percent of Wembley's $56 million in operating profit, primarily from the
2,270 video slots operating at the track. Troubles Mount for Wembley Wembley also told investors it had spent $7.4 million on its failed bid for video slots at its four Colorado tracks. If Bucci and Potter are convicted, Wembley could be liable to pay out $11 million, $500,000 for each of the 22 indictments. Mark Elliott, finance director for Wembley USA who was granted immunity from prosecution in Rhode Island in return for assisting in the case, told The Daily Telegraph the company would consider selling the Colorado racetracks or redeveloping the properties for other uses. Changes for Lincoln Park By mid-November London newspapers were reporting that a "buyer's stampede" was developing for Lincoln Park. Several bidders are believed to have contacted Wembley with offers to buy the track, including Penn National and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Publicly traded Penn National, which owns casinos, racetracks and off-track betting parlors in seven states and Ontario, announced Nov. 20 it hopes to acquire "some or all" of Wembley's assets. In the interim, Lincoln Park applied to the state Department of Business Regulation (DBR) for 340 racing dates in 2004, the same schedule of racing dates the track has received for the last five years. Carcieri recommended that DBR limit the number of dates to the first 90 days of 2004, which would keep up the pressure on Wembley to find a new owner that the state could deal with on the long-planned $50 million expansion of the track's video slots operation. The plan was put on hold after lawmakers reduced Wembley's share of the video slots receipts from 30.5 percent to 27 percent. If and when a new owner takes over Lincoln Park, it will take nearly a year to construct space to house the remaining 730 of the 1,300 additional terminals approved by the Lottery Commission in January 2003. DBR Director Marilyn S. McConaghy issued an order Dec. 29 approving 112 racing performances on 70 race dates. In a letter to House Speaker Bill Murphy dated Dec. 31, Carcieri notified lawmakers that he would again introduce legislation to eliminate what he calls the taxpayer subsidy of owners of dog kennels at Lincoln Park. Under the "Fair Share Program" kennel owners received $10 million in 2003 after the legislature reduced the allotment by $5 million. Carcieri said he would submit a bill on Jan. 6, the first day of the General Assembly's 2004 session, and urged passage of the measure by Feb. 1. Stephen White, a spokesman for the Rhode Island Greyhound Owners Association, said, "Greyhound owners strongly disagree with the characterization of the payments being a subsidy." White said the elimination of the payments to dog owners would be "the end of greyhound racing in Rhode Island." During his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, Carcieri said that if Lincoln Park officials think the greyhounds are an important part of the operation, they should pay the dog owners from their cut.
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