By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The hottest trend on the American gambling scene is a combination casino and horse track known as a "racino."

Gamblers can bet on live and simulcast horse races, but also can play video gaming devices offering computerized versions of slots, blackjack, poker, keno and other casino games.

Unlike riverboats and resort-type casinos, racinos do not offer table games such as blackjack, high-stakes poker, roulette or craps.

The first racinos appeared a decade ago in West Virginia and have since spread to five other states: Iowa, Delaware, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Louisiana.

According to the American Gaming Association, total revenue generated at 17 racinos in the six states in 2002 was about $2.1 billion. That's still relatively low in the overall gaming industry, gaming association officials said.

Indiana's 10 riverboat casinos alone generated $2 billion in revenue last year, according to the state's gaming commission.

But Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, an industry trade and lobbying group, has predicted that growth in the casino industry will come from racinos.

In a January speech at the American Gaming Summit in Last Vegas, Fahrenkopf said many states - among them Ohio and Kentucky - are considering racinos because they have been successful in other states and seem to be more politically palatable than full-blown casinos.

"There's really no demand for the resort model" casino, Fahrenkopf said in the speech. "Plus, the ... track interests are powerful, and they see slots revitalizing their aging tracks."

New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Texas and Maryland are also considering legislation and proposals to legalize racinos.

Though they blend two distinct forms of gambling, many racinos are more similar to casinos than racetracks.

Take the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va., about three hours from Columbus.

Once a struggling racetrack, Mountaineer went racino and now, in addition to year-round live thoroughbred racing, offers 3,000 video

slots, live shows, sporting events, simulcast racing, restaurants, bars, a hotel, a golf course and a spa.

If racinos were legalized in Kentucky, Turfway Park in Florence would build a free-standing, $125 million racino adjacent to the track, according to president Bob Elliston. Turfway is owned by a consortium that includes Harrah's, Gtech and venerable Kentucky racing outfit Keeneland.

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com