JOE BIESK
Associated Press
FRANKFORT, KY. - Whether Kentucky should extend legal gambling beyond its bingo halls and lottery ticket counters to full-blown casinos is a question that's circulated around the General Assembly for years.
The issue came up again Wednesday, when a House legislative panel heard from sponsors of the latest gambling proposals pending before the legislature.
"It's an issue that is not going to go away. We're going to have to deal with it one way or the other," said state Rep. Denver Butler, D-Louisville. "If people want it, fine. If they don't want it, fine. But we need to let the folks make a decision."
Currently, plans pending in the House and Senate would allow casino gambling - including poker, black jack and roulette - at various locations throughout the state. State revenue, under both plans, would go to help pay for education and health care programs in the state.
State Sen. David Boswell, D-Owensboro, has proposed allowing nine casinos throughout Kentucky, including five at horse race tracks and four elsewhere. Boswell, who has long pushed for a casino in Owensboro, said Kentucky is losing more than $1 billion per year to border states that already have casino gambling.
Boswell said the plan could bring Kentucky about 10,000 new jobs and money to pay its bills. With casinos, Kentucky could become a tourist attraction that would lure visitors from around the country.
"It's not just about creating a casino, it's about creating a destination," Boswell said.
Rep. Joe Barrows, D-Versailles, has a similar plan endorsed by the horse industry group, Kentucky Equine Education Project. Barrows' version, pending in the House, would limit the casinos to existing horse race tracks. Revenue under Barrows' plan would also help pay for education and other state expenses.
Barrows said his goal was to preserve the state's horse industry.
Both plans would put to voters a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing casino gambling.
"They are very similar in nature," Boswell said of the plans. "The constitutional amendment is simply a question that poses the issue to the voters of the state of Kentucky whether or not we want to capture a much needed revenue stream that is leaving the state."
Lawmakers on the House Licensing & Occupations Committee did not vote on either proposal.
But Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark of Louisville warned horse industry and KEEP executives in the audience he would not support a constitutional amendment that lists in the constitution what the state's revenue had to be spent on. Clark said constitutional amendments should be "simple and sweet" and threatened he would "work against" any plan that contained such allocations.
"If you stay the course you're going, you're going to be DOA on arrival," Clark said.
Barrows has said the state could eventually collect about $350 million annually, while KEEP has estimated that number could be more than $430 million.
Still, the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, head of the Kentucky Council of Churches, said she did not "buy their numbers." Kemper said she thought the "social cost" to Kentucky would surpass the state's share of gambling revenue and it could jeopardize the horse industry.
"They are playing with fire, and it will really destroy the horse industry," she said.
James Navolio, executive director of KEEP, said he understood lawmakers wanted input into how the state would spend any revenue from expanded gambling. There were few differences between Boswell's plan and the one endorsed by KEEP, Navolio said.
They both agreed the number of casino licenses should be written in the constitution, Navolio said.
"The rest of it can be worked out," Navolio said. "I'm confident that today was the start of the legislative process and the start of getting unanimity on the issue and moving forward with it."
Associated Press
FRANKFORT, KY. - Whether Kentucky should extend legal gambling beyond its bingo halls and lottery ticket counters to full-blown casinos is a question that's circulated around the General Assembly for years.
The issue came up again Wednesday, when a House legislative panel heard from sponsors of the latest gambling proposals pending before the legislature.
"It's an issue that is not going to go away. We're going to have to deal with it one way or the other," said state Rep. Denver Butler, D-Louisville. "If people want it, fine. If they don't want it, fine. But we need to let the folks make a decision."
Currently, plans pending in the House and Senate would allow casino gambling - including poker, black jack and roulette - at various locations throughout the state. State revenue, under both plans, would go to help pay for education and health care programs in the state.
State Sen. David Boswell, D-Owensboro, has proposed allowing nine casinos throughout Kentucky, including five at horse race tracks and four elsewhere. Boswell, who has long pushed for a casino in Owensboro, said Kentucky is losing more than $1 billion per year to border states that already have casino gambling.
Boswell said the plan could bring Kentucky about 10,000 new jobs and money to pay its bills. With casinos, Kentucky could become a tourist attraction that would lure visitors from around the country.
"It's not just about creating a casino, it's about creating a destination," Boswell said.
Rep. Joe Barrows, D-Versailles, has a similar plan endorsed by the horse industry group, Kentucky Equine Education Project. Barrows' version, pending in the House, would limit the casinos to existing horse race tracks. Revenue under Barrows' plan would also help pay for education and other state expenses.
Barrows said his goal was to preserve the state's horse industry.
Both plans would put to voters a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing casino gambling.
"They are very similar in nature," Boswell said of the plans. "The constitutional amendment is simply a question that poses the issue to the voters of the state of Kentucky whether or not we want to capture a much needed revenue stream that is leaving the state."
Lawmakers on the House Licensing & Occupations Committee did not vote on either proposal.
But Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark of Louisville warned horse industry and KEEP executives in the audience he would not support a constitutional amendment that lists in the constitution what the state's revenue had to be spent on. Clark said constitutional amendments should be "simple and sweet" and threatened he would "work against" any plan that contained such allocations.
"If you stay the course you're going, you're going to be DOA on arrival," Clark said.
Barrows has said the state could eventually collect about $350 million annually, while KEEP has estimated that number could be more than $430 million.
Still, the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, head of the Kentucky Council of Churches, said she did not "buy their numbers." Kemper said she thought the "social cost" to Kentucky would surpass the state's share of gambling revenue and it could jeopardize the horse industry.
"They are playing with fire, and it will really destroy the horse industry," she said.
James Navolio, executive director of KEEP, said he understood lawmakers wanted input into how the state would spend any revenue from expanded gambling. There were few differences between Boswell's plan and the one endorsed by KEEP, Navolio said.
They both agreed the number of casino licenses should be written in the constitution, Navolio said.
"The rest of it can be worked out," Navolio said. "I'm confident that today was the start of the legislative process and the start of getting unanimity on the issue and moving forward with it."