Beshear Orders Special Session to Create Race Track Gambling
Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky has told the state legislature it must review gambling possibilities when a special session convenes in less than two weeks. Beshear called the session ostensibly to address the state's budget deficit.
As always, it appears Beshear's primary concern is protection of wealthy Kentucky horse owners and race operators. Just as Beshear went to extremes for the racing industry in pushing for the seizure of 141 online casino domain names, now he is adamant about the need to place slots at state tracks to subsidize the industry.
The General Assembly will meet June 15th at the governor's behest. The primary issue is supposedly the $1 billion shortfall in state budgeting.
But Beshear has made the slot machine issue as important an item. While slots would clearly contribute to state revenue, Beshear's pleas argue more for helping horsemen and less for building schools and paying firemen.
"Kentucky's horse industry ...a living, breathing part of our cultural heritage and one of our strongest, most precious commodities abroad ... is in a state of crisis," said Beshear.
Some analysts say that Beshear's actions against Internet gambling, other than that run by his campaign financiers at Churchill Downs, shows he has no concern for individualm freedom, so that can't be his motive for pushing slots. And finding gaming revenue could be done far more efficiently with casinos than race track machines.
It might even seem that the rich and powerful of Kentucky are jerking the governor hither and yon to find new ways to increase their fortunes.
"Political machinations and calculations are, frankly, not a part of my reasoning today," Beshear stated. Well, if he says so....
