Ohio Officials and Racing Tracks Hopes to Install Slot Machines as Soon as Possible

The state Ohio hopes to finish in 10 months what it took the neighboring state of Pennsylvania twenty-eight months to do-actually install slot machines at state horse racing tracks. Just a day after slot machines at horse racing were approved for the state of Ohio, players and the tracks they will play are preparing to jump in pray. But a look at Ohio's deadline of getting the machines operation by May 2010 is optimistic when compared with the slots experience of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania approved slot machines in racing tracks and planned gaming facilities in July 2004. But it was not until November 2006 that the first coin was inserted into one of the slot machines. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland said on July 15th, 2009 that Ohio can match the same thing in just about 1/3 of the time. Strickland said that Pennsylvania had a different approach than what they are planning in Ohio and they are confident that they can get the slot machines issue resolved.

Gov. Strickland predicted more than $900 million in tax revenue from slot machines over the next 2 years. It is the figure which Ohio legislators relied when balancing Ohio's biennial state budget. After Pennsylvania's slow implementation of its slots plan, tax revenue did begin flowing into the state. In the 1st fiscal year of slot machines in Pennsylvania (2006-2007), the state received a total of $250 million in revenue.

The following year, that total improved to $772 million and then to $964 million according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission. In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the gaming commission predicts that the state will earn $1.25 billion in tax earnings from slot machines. At the Thistledown Racing Track, one of the 7 Ohio racing tracks to get slot machines, gamers enjoy wagering on out-of-two and out-of state horse races, as the track had no horse racing card.

But a lot of players said that they will fully support slot machines at Thistledown and would cut back the trips that they make out-of-state to play. Retiree Ernie Colonie of Garfield Heights said that he usually plays at the Mountaineer Race Track. He added that they will gladly play slot machines at Thistledown and it will savce them money from trips outside of the state. But he said that additional amenities would have to be added in the racing track to make it more attractive.

Sunday, 09 August 2009
Alex Van Der Butz