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Pennsylvania is a state that has long held high profile racing for a number of years now. The gaming in the state is slowing down though. It is no secret that race track gambling has been down since the recession. More and more people are cutting gambling out of their weekly budgets, and racing is one major part of that. Race track owners have been trying to come up with ways to spur on their numbers and revive their markets. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is doing just that, but noted that racing in the state is down by 25% since the same time two years ago. Numbers are so far down that owners are worried that the market cannot be restored without some serious changes and modifications of what they offer. In the year 2009, Pennsylvania brought in $235 million in gambling revenues thanks to the racing industry. That was a huge amount and many legislators and comptrollers started to rely on that money. They earmarked it for the future budget items and counted on it to be a steady form of revenue. Unfortunately that was not to be. Legislators quickly learned that racing is as reliable as gambling in the market. It is dependent on discretionary funds and when customers ended up in the unemployment lines, gambling was one of the first things cut out of their budgets. This put race tracks in defensive positions with few ways to turn things around.

The only thing that is offering hope to the state’s control board is slot machines. Slots are credited with keeping the racing market of the state alive, if not kicking. The market is suffering and slots seem to be the only thing that is making even a dent in it. If anything can save the market, slots should be it. Pennsylvania is not alone though—it seems that tall states right now have race track markets that are dwindling. It may take time to spur on the market, or it could be necessary for companies to increase their slots gaming and diminish their racing altogether. It is possible that racing is a dying sport and there are no ways to revive them post recession.

Another part of the problems for Sam Houston Race Park is in the form of competing race tracks in neighboring states. There was a time when Sam Houston was able to bring the biggest races to the market. The company was the main one providing the big-dollar events with huge payouts. Since the recession, that has changed dramatically. Now it is the race tracks in neighboring states that are holding the huge events. They are able to bring big competing races with bigger horsemen and better known horses, along with bigger purses. This makes their race tracks direct competitors to a race track that is already suffering. Plus add to the mix various other options for wagering, and it is creating a disastrous market for the big name race track to deal with. Gambling companies are coming into the mix left and right—they are focused on bringing more races that attract even bigger numbers of gamers.

The owner of Sam Houston is Shawn Hurwitz. Hurwitz has voiced his concerns regarding growth and the future of the track over the past few months. He notes the growing competition and how it is pushing Sam Houston out of the mix. He also added that there is new hope on the horizon despite the bad news. Penn National Gaming is a huge gaming company that just purchased half of the race track. Hurwitz is hoping that going fifty-fifty in on the project, will help the two companies to put together a viable gaming plan that will allow for a new revival of the gaming market. Another goal of the changes is to bring more jobs to the state and reviving the race track will be a sure fire way to do this. In fact, if the two companies are able to spur on the market, they should be able to bring hundreds of new jobs to the locals and this alone would help the economy and the state’s financial condition. Only time will tell what is going to happen with the race track, but Penn National and Hurwitz have made it clear that they are not going down without a fight. They are hoping to make considerable changes that cause the race track to return to its older days of glory.

The racing industry in Texas has been suffering. Of course all race tracks have had diminished numbers since the recession. One thing that people don’t have to do is wager. Though they can cut back on other things, gambling is one thing in the world that they don’t have to do. It can be completely eliminated from anyone’s budget. That is part of the problem with gambling—no one needs to do it. Gambling companies have been suffering due to that and have few options other than pushing promotions and deals harder. This costs though. Just ask the operators in Atlantic City—they have been struggling to spur on the market for months now. More and more people have been laid off in an effort to save businesses, and that doesn’t seem to be bringing the results that the operators were hoping for. Now Texas is having the same lag in numbers that Atlantic City has had with overall gambling.

Texas is a state that had a lucrative race track market at one time. It used to be one of the favorite pastimes of the residents in the area. They believed that racing was a great gambling option and it benefited race tracks substantially. One large race track in the area is Sam Houston Race Park. It is one of the biggest locations for racing in the state and has a reputation for greatness. Since the recession though, people have been leaving the racing tracks alone. They have been too busy paying bills and getting through their daily finances to think of playing at a race track. Sam Houston’s owners are trying to come up with ways of moving back into the market and bring in the same numbers it did pre-recession. The biggest obstacle to overcome is changing people’s perceptions of wagering and getting them to once again return to race tracks for wagers. Remember too that the race track still has the competition of other casinos in the state and online gambling companies. Now that the online gambling market has increased so much and so quickly, it is making things for the racing industry even harder.

Part two coming next.

The world of online gambling is growing in the market. No longer is gambling online an underground activity or a niche market. Now it is a billion dollar business that is expanding by the month. For this reason, there are many affiliations in the market and buy-outs. More and more companies are making moves to combing forces with other casino organizations. A new one is now Stan James PLC. The company is an online gambling casino that operates out of the very popular Gibraltar location. The company just purchased another division. This time it is Racing2Day LLC. This company is an internet horse racing website that is run by a vast array of operators. The company has proven to be lucrative and this buy is one that is proving how gambling companies are changing. More and more are pushing to develop themselves into larger and more powerful conglomerates.

The world of gambling and racing in the last year has changed drastically. Racing has suffered probably more than any other gambling operation in the market. Though people are slowly moving back into the world of gambling, they have yet to return to older ways of wagering on races. Most race track owners have had to do serious reworking. A lot have laid off workers by the thousands. A lot of others had to close down altogether. It is a difficult time and that means that many people are still hesitant about getting to the race tracks. They believe that they need to be cautious moving back into the market and starting to push for wagering again. The world of racing is highly lucrative potentially, but without a market to move back in on it to fuel the money into it, it is going to be difficult to turn around. Still larger companies like Stan James Plc are hopeful. Their operators know that though racing is experiencing a lag in revenue, that most likely isn’t going to remain the case. Most likely racing is slow to return to its old numbers, but it is going to. As people become more confident of their own job stability, they are going to start wagering at the race tracks again.

Ohio is in the midst of problems regarding gambling and setting the laws. Many states in the US are having heated debates over how to write laws and change the face of gaming and how it is used by the economy. It was last November that the approval for four new casinos was passed. State officials were excited because of the potential because they saw it as a means of bringing in much needed cash flow. Since the recession began economies everywhere have suffered greatly. It has been a difficult time and state legislators, along with cities, are hoping that gambling is just what they need to turn things around financially. It has worked for other cities and now this one is hoping to capitalize on the change to turn the economy around for the good.

The changes are now without consequence though. In Ohio the biggest casualty is the struggling racing industry. Of all the industries that have taken hits during the recession, racing probably is one of the most hard-hit. People suffered high unemployment rates and quickly cut back on discretionary spending. This included gambling and racetrack wagers. Though gambling I seemingly on the rise, racing has yet to come to any clear turnaround. In fact, the numbers are continuing to decline. This is horrible news for the race track owners who were hoping to see the same turnaround that other industries have seen post-recession. Things don’t seem to be turning out that way now that the industry is settling.

In Ohio racetrack owners are particularly concerned because if the four casinos do open it could take what little business racetracks have now completely away. Also, considering that racetracks were making moves to gain approval to include slots gaming at their locations, now this could hamper that. Even if they do get the approval, there are going to be so many widespread choices for gaming at the four state-of-the-art casinos that visiting a racino will be all but unnecessary. State racetrack owners are holding their breaths in anticipation of what comes next. All too many are worried that the only alternative will be to shut their doors permanently.

One industry that quickly suffered during the recession was the horse racing market. Over the years, it took a particularly hard hit. When the unemployment rate soared, people stopped spending and that meant that they cut out any discretionary spending. Most people were focused on paying their bills and just getting by, rather than using funds to pay for gambling at horse racing tracks. This put track owners in difficult positions. Their own revenues declined sharply and they had problems keeping customers from coming in.

Some race tracks looked to bringing in slots gambling to try to spur more customers to return to the market. Throughout history, slots have been a very effective money-generating hobby for businesses, including pubs and bars in the country. That means that if a race track can implement a slots parlor onto their floor, they may have a shot to remain relevant in the market. Race track owners have long been petitioning legislators to allow the move of bringing slots in. They are hoping that the change would bring in millions of much-needed dollars in funding to the market. It also can potentially save many race tracks from closing down altogether. Lawmakers are divided though.

Like most issues with gambling, legislators in Illinois are divided. On one side, legislators believe that slots would help to spur in more business and believe that with the right taxation, all parties could benefit from the move. On the other hand, some legislators are not as supportive of the move. Their reasoning is that bringing slots into race tracks would considerably infringe on their own revenue-generating capability by using slots. The pie would have to be split between the race tracks, the state, the city and the federal government. On the other hand, if the state just put slots in themselves, then race tracks would not have to be cut into the deal.

In the end, it is money that is spurring the debates over allowing Illinois race tracks to bring in slots. There are millions of potential dollars to be had in the market and everyone involved knows well how lucrative the move could be. It will take time for legislators to make their minds, but race tracks in the state are hoping it doesn’t take too long and they truly are able to benefit from the changes.

Illinois race tracks will tell a state gaming commission today that allowing slot machines will help Illinois’s poor economy. Racing officials will say that allowing racinos at Illinois tracks will make up for revenue lost from the state’s new law permitting poker machines at bars. The poker machine law was expected to help fund state’s $30 billion, multi-year infrastructure rebuilding plan, the Post-Dispatch reports. But is only on a voluntary basis and many municipalities have not yet agreed to allow it. Lobbyists are pushing harder than ever for the reform to be considered because they know the harrowing up-coming financial years that the state will be under. They are doing everything they can now to help find solutions to the budgetary problems that no doubt will be around for at least a few more years.

Reform is needed to help the state make its budget for the coming fiscal year. The slot machine industry is celebrating because slots are coming to the state. The Governor approved legislation recently that would add over 40,000 slot machines to the market. They would join the already 75,000 existing slot machines that are highly lucrative to the state. Governor Pat Quinn said, “Annually there are approx. 25,000 slots replaced each year which means an increase in slot machine production.”

 In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn approved legislation that will allow bars and taverns throughout the state to add video poker and video blackjack machines. Each location would be allowed three types of machines and analysts believe anywhere from 25,000 to 50,000 games could be added by next year. That means huge dollars for the states in gambling tax revenues. It’s a good time due to the recession. States are acting like kids in candy stores with gambling. They have had to struggle for revenues for so long due to the recession that the economy created. The new poker machines at bars hopefully will not only bring in revenue, but also bring in new customers first. It’s a huge goal of most businesses to bring in business and it is the first step for turning the economy completely around. As people continue to start spending like they used to, hopefully they will start gambling again and fueling the casino industry back into good revenues.

Illinois race tracks will tell a state gaming commission that allowing slot machines will help Illinois’s poor economy.  Race tracks all over the country have been suffering due to the recession. One of the biggest issues of the economic downturn was a lack of discretionary spending among consumers. They cut back on all spending—from groceries and cars to vacations and hobbies. It was a difficult situation. Add to it the staggering unemployment rate that left millions of Americans without a job and it’s sure fire disaster for the market. People need to start getting back into the workforce, but with over 2.5 million jobs eliminated it’s difficult for even the most educated consumer to find placement. It made people worry about their financial futures and the future of the economy as a whole.

Race tracks are not different in the market. People cut back on spending and that included betting at race tracks. Many tracks throughout the country have had to file bankruptcy or close down completely to manage. Without some new product, it seems that race tracks may continue to close down. That’s why many are calling for slots integration to bring in new customers and in turn, new revenue. The biggest advantage of slots is that they have proven to be highly lucrative in today’s economy. Even Las Vega touts the benefit of having slots and cites that their slots parlors bring over 60% of their average revenue into the business. Race tracks know this and want to save their own operations with the inclusion of slots. Unfortunately, they need permission to do so.

Racing officials will say that allowing racinos at Illinois tracks will make up for revenue lost from the state’s new law permitting poker machines at bars. The poker machine law was expected to help fund state’s $30 billion, multi-year infrastructure rebuilding plan, the Post-Dispatch reports. But is only on a voluntary basis and many municipalities have not yet agreed to allow it. Lobbyists are pushing harder than ever for the reform to be considered. It will take a few months, but soon people will see if slots are going to be introduced to race tracks.

Shaun Hiltner, known around Frederick as DJ Tipsy, won the $30,000 jackpot in the Lincoln and Loot Giveaway at Charles Town Races & Slots.  Shaun, who is known by his friends and family as being a kind and caring man, took over his parents’ mortgage payment last year so they wouldn’t lose their home.  As a result, Shaun didn’t have to think long or hard about how he would spend a $30,000 jackpot he won Sunday at Charles Town Races & Slots. “I’ll use it to help pay down my parent’s mortgage,” Hiltner said. It was great news for the player and she made it clear that paying off bills was a priority. Though many consumers think of gambling winnings as luxury money, the reality for some people is that the money is best spent on practical things like paying down debt, paying off medical bills and paying for everyday expenses.

Shaun took over his parents mortgage when his mother had back surgery. While she was in recovery, she was rear-ended in a car accident.  “That messed her up for life,” said Hiltner.  His mother is living off a $713 disability check, while his father has been unable to find construction work, Hiltner said. Hiltner won the money in the racetrack’s $300,000 Lincoln and Loot Giveaway. He had the option of taking a $46,000 2010 Lincoln MKT or the cash. “It was the calls that came later that made it all worthwhile,” he said. “My friends, who knew my family was falling on hard times, said, ‘You got the biggest heart, man,’ and ‘You deserve it more than anyone else.’  “My parents have been there for me, so it’s my turn,” Hiltner said. “It will definitely help my family.”

Hiltner loves his full-time work as a local disc jockey, but winning a jackpot is a faster way to get money.  Jon Hall, Charles Town promotions and events administrator, said he wished all his winners were like Hiltner. “I asked him if he won what he would do with the money, and he said he would throw it at his mother’s mortgage. All the ladies in the room went, ‘Aw,’” he said. “I was hoping he would win because you don’t get that answer every day.”

Recently Calder Casino and Race Track in Miami Gardens Florida got its first delivery of brand new slots games.  There were 242 shiny games delivered from WMS of Waukegan, Illinois. It took five trucks to haul the machines from the Midwest to Florida. They were situated in a 104,000 square foot casino facility and are hoped to bring much-needed revenue to the business. The all-new Calder Casino is scheduled for a grand opening in January 2010 and will feature 1,225 slot machines in all, as well as three new restaurants.

The casino will feature the most popular games in the industry from WMS and other manufacturers.  Wagers will range anywhere from penny-slots to high dollar slots. They are shooting for diversity with their slots parlor so everyone can enjoy the fun and gamble freely.  Senior Director of Slot Operations Beverly Price stated, “This is an exciting step for us on our journey to making the Calder Casino a reality. Our team has been working extremely hard on the casino project and to have the first round of machines arrive signifies another major milestone for us.” It was a good day for the casino and it is hoping that the new slots open up a new market for the casino. Many racetracks have suffered due to the recession and have looked for various ways to bring in added revenues. Calder will be the second pari-mutuel facility in Miami-Dade County to offer slot machines, and the only Thoroughbred racetrack in the county to feature these games. In addition, Calder opened its brand-new, 29-table Studz Poker Club on Oct. 23. The race track is looking to develop itself into a premiere “racino” for the state. Racino is a term that has been coined to signify a casino with slot machine parlor combination. It’s great news to legislators who are hoping to first, elevate the amount of jobs in the area, two, save race tracks from financial disaster and three, bring in huge tax revenues from the slot machines. It’s no secret that race track bidding is down. People just aren’t venturing to the race tracks these days.  It is hoped that bringing slots will attract a new gambling public to the facilities and elevate revenues.