Articles By Bob Gorsky GAMBLING ON LOT E? BRILLIANT! I’ve been following the proposed Dallas City Limits project with some interest lately. The proposed development near the Convention Center has been touted as a multi-faceted development of shops, restaurants, restaurants, concert facilities and possibly gambling. Gambling? The news reports are a little vague on whether Dallas City Limits wants to step into the development of casino gambling, but horse racing facilities have been discussed as part of a second phase in the Cedars project south of I-30. Mayor Miller is skeptical about the Dallas City Limits group because she says they want 20 million dollars worth of tax incentives from the city but DCL hasn’t shown her that they have the money to make the project it work. Mayor Miller does embrace the idea of downtown Dallas casino gambling, perhaps at the Reunion Arena site if the city retains ownership of it. While the catch phrase to date for downtown’s night life might as well be “what works downtown never stays downtown,” the thought of the “cha-ching” of slot machines has the City Council abuzz, setting off news stories and letters to the Dallas Morning News regarding the merits of legalized gambling in Dallas. Can we put on the brakes please! Smart people at Dallas City Hall should know that it’s all a pipe dream. I am not a critic of local gaming in any form. I race and breed thoroughbreds and I support gaming at Texas racetracks, including efforts to add slot machines, formally called video lottery terminals (VLTs) at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. Expanded gaming at racetracks on the internet and through telephone betting would be good for the thoroughbred and quarter horse industry and our tax coffers. But the reality is that legalized gambling in Dallas is as likely as Kinky Freedman being elected the Governor of Texas. Talk of gambling on Lot E, if the land swap with Woodbine Development Corporation is completed, or horse racing at Cedars along the Trinity might energize those who envision a vibrant downtown Dallas, but the Texas legislature has quashed the relatively limited VLT gaming at Texas racetracks. If well financed lobbyists hired by horsemen’s groups haven’t been able to pass VLT wagering in a state where agriculture and culture is centered around the horse, how is Dallas going to accomplish this feat? They’re not going to get help from out-of-state gambling interests. Gambling interests from New Mexico and Louisiana have lobbied against VLTs at Texas racetracks in order to keep the gambling dollars in those neighboring states. A Dallas Morning News story (February 1, 2006) reported that the city and Dallas City Limits’ officials acknowledge “legal hurdles” for the project. No kidding. There may be several, but the biggest legal hurdle is going to be found in Austin. So why mention “gambling” when promoting this land deal? Well, someone had to come up with the right hook. Brilliant! ______________________________________________________________ Bob Gorsky is a partner at the Dallas law firm of Lyon, Gorsky, Haring & Gilbert, L.L.P., 3131 McKinney Avenue, Suite 100, Dallas, Texas 75204; 214/965-0090, website: lyongorsky.com or email Bob at bgorsky@swbell.net. |