Liu Goes for Slots Jackpot
From Glendale News-Press

Liu, Margett Go for Slots Jackpot

By Josh Kleinbaum, News-Press
LA CAŅADA FLINTRIDGE -- Two local legislators are betting on a longshot to help California's horse-racing industry.

Assemblywoman Carol Liu (D-La Caņada Flintridge) and state Sen. Bob Margett (R-La Crescenta) are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to consider the plight of racetracks in his budget negotiations, including allowing slot machines at the tracks.

Santa Anita Park is in Liu's and Margett's districts. Liu sponsored a Women in Horseracing day at the Arcadia park in April.

The legislators, along with Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), signed a letter written by Liu asking Schwarzenegger to keep the door open for slot machines at racetracks. Liu will send the letter to the governor on Monday, her staffers said Friday.

The governor is negotiating deals with Native-American casinos for the state to get some of their profits, and he could offer the tribes a monopoly on slot machines to get more revenue.

"We're just saying, don't preclude the opportunity for the racetracks to have slot machines," said Suzanne Reed, Liu's chief of staff. "I'm not very confident [Schwarzenegger will listen]."

Liu did not return calls for comment despite spending the afternoon on a business walk in La Caņada Flintridge. According to her staff, she forgot her cellphone.

Slot machines and Native-American casinos have become hot items in California politics. During his election campaign last year, Schwarzenegger vowed to get the state government a share of profits from Native-American casinos. By offering a slot machine monopoly, Schwarzenegger has some leverage in negotiations with the casinos.

This week, Schwarzenegger vowed to defeat an initiative that could legalize a limited number of slot machines for racetracks, which the horse racing industry believes is necessary for survival.

"Racetracks cannot compete [with other gambling sites] right now," said Justin Matheson, Margett's chief of staff. "Santa Anita is in our district, and it is a very important part of our district as the economy goes, and jobs. If they're struggling, then our community is struggling."

Officials in the horse racing industry say that attendance, wagering and purses are down across the state. Attendance at Hollywood Park in Inglewood dropped between 3% and 4% each of the past three years, and officials attribute the loss to Native-American casinos.

"You've got a $6-billion to $8-billion competitor that didn't exist three years ago," said Rick Baedeker, president of Hollywood Park. "We are losing business to [Native-American casinos]. We're also losing horses and owners to other states that have slot-enriched purses. We're actually 0-for-2."

Matheson and Reed dismissed the notion that adding slot machines to racetracks could increase problem gambling.

"There's so much access to gambling at this point that providing slot machines at the racetrack is not going to have an impact," Reed said. "People can bet on football games, basketball games, they can go on the [Internet] and bet on anything."