State records reveal plenty of money in gambling

Will the smell of money bring a dog fight over horse tracks in West Volusia?

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jun 3, 2008 - 10:39:04am

It's shaping up to be a horse race — or dog fight – to see who's able to bring horse racing and poker rooms to West Volusia.

And, it's no wonder. Records on file with the state show gambling operations make millions for their owners.

Horses, dogs and cards are cash cows — so are casinos

(View .pdf of state reports.)

There's money to be made, and a lot of it, especially in poker rooms, which have relatively low overhead.

Income from gambling operations is a matter of public record, since state laws require the financial details to be reported, and the money to be split with the state.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation regulates pari-mutuel operations, and ensures the state gets its share of proceeds.

According to information posted on the department's Web site, in the first 10 months of the state's fiscal year, July 1, 2007-April 30, 2008, the Daytona Beach Kennel Club card room took in $5.58 million in gross receipts. It's running in the middle of the pack; the Palm Beach Kennel Club card room took in $8.58 million.

Racing has its earnings, too. The Daytona Beach Kennel Club took in $7.75 million in live-track wagering during the same time period, and another $4.03 million in inter-track betting, for a total of $11.78 million. The Palm Beach Kennel Club took in $28.3 million in live-track wagering and $48.3 million in inter-track betting, for a total of $73.6 million.

Inter-track and simulcast wagers involve betting on races going on at remote locations. Simulcast races are broadcast in the host facility either via television, radio or the Internet.

Pompano Park, owned by Isle of Capri Casinos, with which Green Bridge Co. is affiliated, took in $8.06 million in live-track wagering, $21 million in simulcast wagering, and $4.22 million in inter-track wagering, for a total of $36.27 million. Its card room took in $8.4 million.

During fiscal year 2006-07, the total take for all wagering on racing and jai alai operations around the state was nearly $1.5 billion. For card rooms, at those pari-mutuel facilities that have them, the gross was $54.21 million.

Gambling-industry analysts suspect pari-mutuel operators around the state are hungrily eyeing the slot machines that have been legalized in South Florida, and predict there will be an attempt to bring them into the rest of the state.

Total slots revenues, after payouts, from the state's three South Florida casinos — Pompano Park, Mardi Gras and Gulfstream — has been increasing steadily this fiscal year, from $18.43 million in July to $25.82 million in March.

The state gets half the net slots revenue, after payouts. The total net slots revenue for the 10 months that ended April 27 was $206.5 million.

What's happening locally?

Delaware North owns the Daytona Beach Kennel Club, established in 1948. A poker-room addition came in 1998, two years after cards rooms were legalized in Florida.

According to Spring Garden Ranch office manager Sandy Weis, Delaware North is considering heading west — to Spring Garden Ranch in DeLeon Springs. Weis said the ranch is still in the talking stages with Delaware North, about letting the company run betting operations for quarter-horse and standard-breed racing, along with a card room.

"We're still talking," she said.

Delaware North officials have not confirmed they are negotiating with the DeLeon Springs group.

On the south end of West Volusia, Green Bridge Co. of Bettendorf, Ia., is talking with DeBary City Council members about DeBary Downs, a quarter-horse track and poker room they want to put on DeBary's south end.

The prospect made the kennel-club owners bare their teeth.

Delaware North has remained silent about whether it was responsible for a telephone campaign waged in DeBary against DeBary Downs, an allegation Green Bridge attorney Ty Harris made to DeBary City Council members. Telephone solicitors urged residents to call City Council members and express their opposition to gambling in DeBary. Harris said Delaware North hired them.

A Delaware North spokeswoman would neither confirm nor deny its involvement in a radio-advertising campaign with a similar theme.

Under the name Sumter Real Estate Holdings LLC, Green Bridge has applied to the state for a permit to operate a quarter-horse track and poker room in Sumter County, in addition to the one it wants to build in Volusia County.

Who's first could make a difference

If someone wants to have standardbred horse-racing along with quarter-horse racing and a card room in DeLeon Springs, that operator would have to open before DeBary Downs.

State distance regulations would knock out standardbred or thoroughbred racing in DeLeon Springs, if there's already quarter-horse racing in DeBary, because of required distances between horse-racing facilities.

There are no required distances between quarter-horse tracks, and those operators can run as few as one race a year and still keep their card rooms open year-round. Other forms of racing require set numbers of races per year.

The State's cut

What does the State of Florida get for licensing and monitoring pari-mutuel operations?

The state's share from all pari-mutuel and casino operations in Fiscal Year 2006-07 totaled $99.26 million from taxes, fees and licenses. The portion of that from card rooms was $5.8 million.

The total revenue from all racing and jai alai events was $27.56 million; the total revenue from slots was $63.2 million, and the rest came from miscellaneous fees.

Florida State Statute 550.095 gives the state 1 percent of the handle for quarter-horse racing, 5.5 percent for dog racing, and 7.1 percent for jai alai.

The state gets from 2 to 7.1 percent of the handle on inter-track wagering, depending on the type of facility hosting the betting.

The state also collects daily license fees that range from $40 to $500 per game or race, and an admissions tax of 15 percent of the admission charge or 10 cents, whichever is greater.

Some of the proceeds go to cover the Department of Business and Regulation's expenses for administering licensing, regulation and monitoring programs of pari-mutuel operations. The rest goes into the state's general revenue fund.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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