Furor in Illinois; ‘Carmageddon’ in New Jersey

Charles DeGaulle was famous as The Man Who Said No. That nickname may have to be reassigned to Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen. His decision not to seek racino status for Arlington International Racecourse has set the Illinois gaming industry and political establishment on its ear. “We can’t make this work,” he said of the “financially untenable” Illinois Gaming Act. Why? One of the reasons is a tilted playing field: Racinos would have to pay a substantial surtax, to fatten racing purses, a requirement not imposed on casinos. Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes, while generally conciliatory, noted that Churchill Downs probably didn’t want to compete with itself at nearby Rivers Casino Des Plaines, of which it owns 61%.

The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association was not so amicable. It pointed out that Arlington had been pursuing racino status for a decade. Calling itself “stunned and profoundly disappointed,” the association fumed that Churchill Downs “evidently plans to instead abandon its commitment to racing in Illinois and focus solely on its stake in the Rivers Casino and potentially other Illinois casinos not yet developed. Churchill has snubbed not only the working men and women of thoroughbred horse racing whose collective livelihood depends on live racing, but also all of the elected officials it has so intensely lobbied over the last decade.” ITHA wants Arlington’s tax breaks rescinded as punishment.

Arlington Park falls within the jurisdiction of state Rep. Mark Walker, who called Churchill’s move “risky,” raising the possibility that this was a negotiating tactic on the company’s part. “It doesn’t seem to be, but we’ll see,” he concluded.  Former governor Jim Edgar piled on, saying, ”I wish Churchill would sell the track to somebody else if they don’t want to be in the horseracing business … I think it’s pretty obvious they’re in the casino business. They own a big chunk of the casino down the road in Des Plaines and they’d rather do that.” State Sen. Terry Link (below) claimed to be unsurprised by events. ”All these developers want more. If we would’ve said no taxes, they probably still would’ve asked for more,” he shrugged.

Churchill Downs, meanwhile, is a long shot in its bid for a casino in Waukegan. The fix seems to be in for a Warner Gaming project, which has juice in the form of four aldermen whose election bids were funded in part by Tap Room Gaming owner Michael Bond or video-gaming interests. The former has much support in the African-American community, some of it reluctant. “We do know a casino will be coming to Waukegan, a reality that the community must accept,” sighed Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Arthur Gass, who encouraged alderman to consider Warner/Tap Room and toss all five other bids outright. Mayor Sam Cunnigham‘s intent is to recommend as many as four proposals to the state for final consideration.

“City Attorney Bob Long said Waukegan could not recommend a single developer even if it wanted to. That would risk the Illinois Gaming Board rejecting the bid, and opening up the process again, to be run by the gaming board, or possibly selecting another community to host the casino,” reported Global Gaming Business. If selected, Churchill Downs and Rush Street Gaming would convert a defunct shopping mall to a 1.625-position casino but it looks like they’ve got an uphill climb.

* So you’ve bought some ganja weed as a souvenir of your trip to Las Vegas and want to get it through the airport. Forget about it. Unlike Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle, which allow limited quantities on board, McCarran International is among the vast majority of airports where wacky tobacco is no-go. Also, it’s still illegal to transport pot across state lines, so there’s that. Heck, in Vegas the marijuana industry can’t even advertise in an airport where you can play slots and watch video footage of Carrot Top. (The taxicab industry is apparently cleaning up on marijuana ads.)

While the Transportation Safety Administration isn’t acting as the pot police “TSA X-ray scanners sometimes flag organic material, which sometimes can have the same density as organic materials,” reports the Wall Street Journal. Some airports will bust you, others will confiscate it and still others (mostly in California) will let it go. Smoke it while you’ve got it seems like the answer, but there are hidden snares there also. If you do it in your Aria or Mandalay Bay hotel room you’ll get socked with a $500 deep-cleaning fee. Maybe you’re thinking of staying at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where the hotel rooms have balconies. But the Cosmo bars open-air pot smoking. As long as the casinos defer to federal bans on marijuana, wacky-weed tourism will be something of a mixed blessing for Sin City.

* Unless I missed it, casino gambling has yet to be legitimized in Brazil. However, the government seems to have other ideas in that regard. Gilson Machado Neto, president of the Brazilian Tourism Board is coming to Las Vegas next week, “seeking new investments and partnerships for tourism promotion projects in Brazil, including casinos.” Hmmmm. Very interesting.

* Going to the Meadowlands to place a sports bet is going to get a lot more difficult. Long-troubled Xanadu is finally going to open as American Dream Mall, right next to the home of the New York (Football) Giants. Already the area is characterized as subject to “the nation’s worst urban traffic and road conditions,” according to the Reason Foundation. Throw in the traffic generated by the megamall and “It’s going to be Carmageddon,” says Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club. American Dream is just the latest in a series of transportation nightmares for the area. Sports bettors would be well advised to skip the Meadowlands and learn to love wagering online.