By Patrick Crowley
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It appears that gambling legislation in Kentucky won't yield any results this year.

Despite a strong push by Kentucky's thoroughbred industry, the president of the state Senate says there is little chance legislation legalizing casino gambling will be approved this year.

Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, a powerful force in Frankfort who controls the flow of legislation in the Senate, said there is "little enthusiasm or support for an expansion of gambling" in the Senate.

"I don't hear anybody talking about it except (House President Pro Tem) Larry Clark," Williams said.

Williams stopped short of saying whether he would refuse to consider any gambling bills that might come out of the House of Representatives.

Clark, a top Democratic House leader, has been working with key people from the state's thoroughbred industry - including Turfway Park president Bob Elliston - on crafting a bill to put the issue before the voters through a statewide constitutional amendment. A vote would be held this fall if the bill passed. But that is a prospect that seems unlikely at this point.

If the House passed a gambling bill, Williams said, proponents could use a procedural move known as a discharge petition to get the legislation to the Senate floor, where Republicans hold a 22-16 majority.

If a bill passes the House, it then goes to a Senate committee, which must vote on whether to send the legislation on to the full Senate. But sometimes committee chairmen hold bills that eventually die without a vote.

Discharge petitions allow legislation to be removed from a committee and sent to the full Senate. Though rare, they are used to dislodge legislation that leadership is unwilling to put up for a vote.

Twenty of the Senate's 38 members are needed to approve a discharge petition and get a bill to the floor.

Williams' mention of the discharge petition could be viewed as an indication he has no intention of calling any gaming bills for a vote. He also pointed out that even if the bill is successfully discharged from committee, it would need more than a simple majority to be put on the ballot.

Kentucky's constitution requires a vote of three-fifths in both chambers to put an amendment on the ballot. In the Senate, 23 votes are required.

"If a bill comes over here from the House, and this is pure speculation, 20 votes can discharge the bill, but you'll still have to have 23 votes for the constitutional amendment," Williams said.

"I don't think you'll see an expansion of gambling in the foreseeable future."

Williams said that while gambling could generate millions in revenue for the state, he opposes it because it is not a "predictable" source of revenue.

Even though some House Democrats are working on a gambling bill, House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, Williams' contemporary in the House, said he will not get behind the legislation unless Gov. Ernie Fletcher does.

Fletcher has said while he will not stand in the way of a constitutional amendment on gambling, neither will he openly support or push it in the legislature.

Backers have said that as much as $400 million could come from gambling.

Turfway's Elliston said the thoroughbred industry continues its push for a vote this year.

Track owners and operators, as well as breeders and others in the industry, have said for years that casino gambling - preferably video slots at racetracks - are needed to compete with casinos in Indiana, Illinois and elsewhere.

But Elliston said the industry is now compromising and would consider supporting a bill that would allow a vote on racetrack casinos - known as a "racino"- and full-blown casinos in such population centers as Northern Kentucky.

"I'm not sure we're there yet" on the compromise, Elliston said Tuesday.

"But we would certainly consider a constitutional amendment as it relates to all racetracks, the thoroughbred industry and casinos - a blend of all that."

E-mail pcrowley@enquirer.com