Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino Not So Much For Horseplay
As Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino prepares to submit its plan for a permanent building to house its slot machines, figures show that the track's lack of proper foresight and planning may have cost them a boost in race gambling this past year. Play on horses is down $39 million over the coresponding period in 2006, before slots were installed.
This bucks two strong national trends, both a general slight increase in national racetrack play and an upsurge at specific tracks that have introduced slots. Customers of the track blame the clumsy layout, which has the slots temporarily taking up the bottom two floors of the grandstands, while all race play is taken on the top fifth floor. Some horse players feel as if they became second fiddle to slots. Michael Ballezzi, the president of the Pensylvania Thoroughbred Racing Association, simply called the track's conditions "unacceptable".
A permanent, separate building for slots would solve much of the discomfort, and the Park goes before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Tuesday to show plans for such construction, as previously reported here. The racetrack is required to make progress in this area in order to have the license made permanent; otherwise, the temporary licensing would expire midnight on Wednesday.
Greenwood Gaming, the company controlling the complex, defends its record as being growth pains, and foresees bright times ahead. Greenwood CEO Robert Green noted the ongoing $12 million improvements to the barn and stables, and stated that purses had already shown benefit, more than doubling from the previous year.
With proper oversight, it seems likely that Philadelphia Park will overcome its expansionary stumbles and soon reap the rewards other tracks have received by combining slot and race facilities.
