Racetracks campaign for slots as budget solution

Arizona's racetracks are galloping into the state's budget fray by opening the gates on a publicity campaign this week promoting slots and tables at tracks.An Arizona Racetrack Alliance campaign led by Turf Paradise horse track and Phoenix Greyhound Park began Monday with tiny plastic "budget jockeys" placed all over the state capitol to attract legislators' attention, said Jason Rose, whose PR firm is heading up the publicity campaign for the tracks.The jockeys featured tags with messages such as "Everyone's sacrificing except tribal casinos."

Arizona House Majority Whip Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, found one of the jockeys on his windshield as he was driving away from the capitol Monday. No legislator could be more receptive to the message, since he's been trying to get fellow legislators to consider legalizing racinos (racetracks with gaming slot machines and/or tables) for months and has a bill ready to go.Tobin thinks fellow legislators are warming up to the idea as an alternative to Gov. Jan Brewer's push to increase the sales tax temporarily, although he won't drop the bill until he thinks it has a chance for approval.Tobin doesn't see other alternatives to balancing the budget that could get through the Legislature and governor. The Legislature's ongoing special session still is trying to come up with a final budget for the fiscal year that began July 1."The question is, do you hate a tax increase more than you hate expanding gaming at racetracks?" Tobin said. "You've got to pick."On Wednesday, the track campaign placed banner ads on political websites such as the Capitol Times that linked to a Facebook page offering more information and a chance for people to show support, Rose said.A consulting firm estimated for the alliance that racinos would gross an extra combined $833 million for the state's six horse and dog tracks by the time they set up permanent operations in 2012.The tracks are offering 45 percent of that gross to state and local governments.The consulting firm estimated that the Yavapai Downs horse track at Prescott Valley would rake in $23.7 million in new gross revenues by 2012.Legalized slots and tables clearly would be a huge boost to the struggling Yavapai Downs, which has seen its revenues drop about 15 percent the last two years."It would help any racetrack in the country stay in business," added Vincent Francia, marketing manager for Turf Paradise in Phoenix. "They're all struggling."Yavapai Downs General Manager Gary Spiker said the extra revenues also would translate into more jobs, more entertainment, bigger purses, better horses, facility improvements and extra horse stalls. And it would help breeders, trainers and owners."It would just help all the way around," Spiker said. "And it's discretionary dollars, whether one agrees or disagrees with gambling."Arizona's Indian casinos contributed a combined $111 million to state and local governments this past year, through compacts that share 1-8 percent of their net revenues depending on how much they earn. The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe and other tribes don't have to report their revenues.If Arizona legalizes racinos, the tribes' 2002 voter-approved compacts would allow the tribes to stop sharing revenues and expand their gambling ad infinitum.Currently 12 states have legalized racinos that contributed from $13 million to $752 million to state/local government coffers in 2008, according to the American Gaming Association.

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