FORT MITCHELL — The state has big budget problems. Developer Jerry Carroll has a big plan, market research and another multimillion-dollar idea.

        And he's working it. Right now. A casino “mega-development.”

Carroll

        Mr. Carroll, best-known for his successes in building the $152 million Kentucky Speedway and refurbishing Turfway Park, says he is working behind the scenes to once again build support for legalizing casino gambling in the state.

        Mr. Carroll is betting that Kentucky's state budget woes will sway legislators to put the question of legalized gambling before the voters.

        Mr. Carroll says he is conducting polling on the issue, making his case to state lawmakers, rallying other supporters of gambling and scouting potential Northern Kentucky casino sites.

        “When you come right down to it, the state needs the money,” Mr. Carroll said in an interview last week.

        “So you need to look at the highest and best use in this situation, and that's expanded gaming if you do it right. And my track record, from Turfway to the Kentucky Speedway, shows I do it right.”

Special session topic?

        Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton recently indicated that he might begin to push for legalized gambling, though he did not specify whether he prefers slots at tracks or Mr. Carroll's casino proposal.

        The slowing economy forced the Patton administration to cut $700 million from the state budget for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Mr. Patton said in a recent interview that revenues coming into state tax coffers continue to lag, and that there may not be enough money to meet the spending called for in the budget.

        “If that is the case, there are two choices,” Mr. Patton said. “Cut expenditures or raise revenue. If raising revenue, there may very well be two choices: one would be to increase taxes, the other would be expanded gaming.

        “Of those two, I think that expanded gaming would be preferable,” he said.

        Because of disagreements between House Democrats and Senate Republicans, a 2003 budget was not passed during the regular legislative session.

        Some lawmakers have speculated that Mr. Patton may call a special legislative session this fall for lawmakers to pass a new spending plan, but so far he has not committed to doing so.

        House Majority Caucus Chairman Jim Callahan, D-Wilder, who sponsored the video slots bill, said that if a special session were called, expanded gaming could come up as an issue.

        “In the context that we would want to come up with an additional source of revenue, gambling is the only area I'm aware of that does not include the word "tax,' ” Mr. Callahan said.

        “That does not mean it would pass, but when you start talking about trying to come up with new revenue, you can't exclude gambling.”

        But legalizing gambling is still going to be a difficult, if not impossible, sell in Frankfort, said state Sen. Jack Westwood, R-Erlanger.“I haven't heard or seen anything that has shown me (Democrats and Republicans) are together on the gambling issue,” Mr. Westwood said.

        “I won't be surprised if it comes up again, but I don't see it happening. The support just isn't there.”

Slots never took the floor

        Mr. Westwood and other lawmakers point to the General Assembly's legislative session of earlier this year. During the regular session, a coalition of Kentucky's horse breeding industry — including Turfway Park, which Mr. Carroll sold three years ago — tried to win passage of a law that would allow racetracks to offer video slot machines.

        The bill was attacked by religious groups and conservative lawmakers and never made it to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote.

        The horse industry, saying it needs slots to compete with riverboat casinos in Indiana and Illinois and horse tracks offering gambling in West Virginia, plans to push for the bill in the 2003 legislative session that begins in January.

"Mega-developments'

        Mr. Carroll is advocating not just slots at racetracks but full-fledged casinos, what he calls “mega-developments.”

        They would feature not just casinos, but also entertainment, restaurants, night spots, retail and other attractions.

        Through an agreement with the city of Covington, Mr. Carroll is putting together a development plan for a 10-acre tract of land between Covington Landing and the Waterfront.

        He is having a casino plan drawn up in the event that gambling is legalized, but to also show the public what a casino would look like on the Ohio River across from Paul Brown Stadium.

        Mr. Carroll said he is also “exploring two or three other” riverfront sites in Northern Kentucky close to downtown Cincinnati where casinos could be built.

        He would not name the sites and said he has not purchased the property. But he does have architects working on conceptual plans for entertainment venues anchored by casinos.

        “If you really want to generate money for the state, as well as jobs (for residents) and excitement for tourists, then you want casinos,” Mr. Carroll said. “Look at the kind of money they are bringing in in Indiana. That could happen in Kentucky, if we do it right.”

        Indiana's riverboat casinos took in nearly $198 million during the first month of dockside gambling in August, an increase of $25 million over July.

Legislative vote or ballot?

        Contained within the overall gambling debate is a discussion on how it could be legalized. Some in Frankfort say it could and should be done by a straight vote of the legislatures.

        Others say gambling could only be approved by amending the state constitution, which would require the legislature putting the issue on the statewide ballot and giving voters the final say.

        Mr. Carroll prefers the latter and is polling people on the issue, though he would not discuss specifics of the surveys, including when and how they are being done, or when they will be released.

        “How can you go wrong if you let the people decide?” he said.

        He said he continues to talk to lawmakers as well as other “like-minded” people around the state who support casinos in Kentucky.

        The state is operating on an ad-hoc spending plan similar to the budget Gov. Patton submitted to the Legislature in the regular session and anearlier special session.

        “We need money in this state, but nobody wants to be taxed,” Mr. Carroll said. “And if you don't want to be taxed, you almost have to consider gambling as an alternative. Other states have, and look at the money they are bringing in.”

        The Associated Press contributed.

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