Sunday, January 17, 1999
Even with slots, racetracks may not be able to catch riverboat casinos
BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LAWRENCEBURG— A change in ownership at Turfway Park will do little to slow the pace of bettors racing to Tristate casinos, according to local gambling experts and players.
“Horse racing is still too slow for many bettors,” Shannon Bybee, executive director of the International Gaming Institute in Las Vegas, said a day after Turfway Park was sold for $37 million.
“Casino gambling is quicker and bettors tend to gravitate to faster action,” Mr. Bybee said Saturday.
In just two years, casino gamblers have bet more than $6 billion at riverboats in Lawrenceburg and Rising Sun. Ohio River casinos have lured many customers from Kentucky and Ohio race tracks in a trend mirrored nationally.
“There has been a steady decline in horse-race betting across the country,” Mr. Bybee said.
To former track customer Sal Sanchez, betting on the ponies is a memory fading more every day.
“I was into the horses when I was younger, but as gaming got more popular around the country I switched over,” said the 57-year-old New Jersey businessman during a gambling break at the Argosy Casino in Lawrenceburg.
“It's easier to get to different casinos all around the country. And compared to horse racing, casino gambling doesn't take as much effort. You put a coin in a slot (machine) and you get all the bells and rings and excitement,” Mr. Sanchez said.
Bob Marshall of Indianapolis has been to the horse races but now prefers casino gambling. He and his wife were spending the day at Argosy.
“At the track, you sit there all day to make eight bets on races. Here you have more choices. And you can stay as long as you like,” said Mr. Marshall.
For horse tracks to flourish in the next century, Mr. Bybee said, they will have to create a hybrid gambling facility incorporating both track betting and casino games.
“Slot machines at a track would attract more people and help keep their attention between races,” Mr. Bybee said.
“But race tracks have to decide which business they are in,” he said. “Are they in the horse-racing business or are they in the gambling business or the entertainment business?”
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