Never mind that Illinois casino admissions were down 1.4 million last year and the state’s gambling houses brought in $87 million less than in 2013. Politicians are preparing to try 
and ram another big gaming expansion through the Legislature, counting on the support of new Gov. Bruce Rauner (R, right), who is said to be “open” to persuasion. In the plan currently being floated, Arlington International Racecourse would get 1,200 slots and casinos would go into Lake County, Chicago, Rockford, Danville, and an undesignated southern suburb of the Windy City. Legislators continue to imagine that more gambling will be the panacea to Illinois’ financial problems, all evidence.
“Gambling expansion would just sift people from one place to another and would not increase revenue,” said Illinois Casino Gaming Association Executive Director Tom Swoik, who’s probably spitting into the wind. Still, the numbers from the state’s major casinos are inarguable. MGM Resorts International‘s Grand Victoria suffered a 15% decline, Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Casino Aurora was 13% down and Empress Joliet suffered an 11% slippage. Meanwhile, slot routes continue to grow and to eat into casino revenues. But lawmakers are not going to let mere facts stop them this year.
* Instant racing is here to stay in Arkansas. At Oaklawn Park and Southland Park it netted $235 million, of which the state gets to keep $39.5 million. By contrast, the ponies only generated $3 million in taxes. Do you think lawmakers will fail to notice the disparity? Despite the popularity of “electronic games of skill” (the verbal dodge that gets around Arkansas’ ban on gambling), the machines have not revived interest in dog racing at Southland Park. By contrast, the Arkansas Times reports that Oaklawn Park “has bulked up thoroughbred racing purses with profits to attract better horses and has sustained a better horse racing operation than many tracks around the country.” Its Web site is also less shy about promoting racing as the main draw.
