How "SLOTS" saved Racetracks

[karlskorner]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07056/764932-336.stm

[linrom1]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07056/764932-336.stm

USA is quickly becoming a nation of overweight, mentally and physically lazy automons.

There's one additional benefit to playing the slots instead of horses: The machines generally return as prize money at least 90 percent of the amount risked, compared to 80 percent for pari-mutuel wagering.

Which means what, that all slot players will lose all of their money playing rigged machines. A skilled horseplayer can eke out a living, but, you can't playing slots with payout ratios of only 90%.

[cj]

Unfortunately, they are saving tracks that probably shouldn't be saved.

[classhandicapper]

Unfortunately, they are saving tracks that probably shouldn't be saved.

Exactly.

IMO, there is something "unsound" about using large quantities of valuable real estate to support an uneconomical horse racing business, when you could easily just sell the real estate and open a smaller venue with slots that would be wildly profitable.

[Stevie Belmont]

Philadelphia's purses continue to go up. They are gunning for a 500,000 a day in purses down the road. They are also looking for GI Status of the PA Derby with the upping of that purse to a million, and by next year that purse could be more. The clamps are tightning around Maryland, and soon NJ and NY will feel it. Actually NY is already being impacted by what's going on at Philly to an extent.

[Cesario!]

Philadelphia's purses continue to go up. They are gunning for a 500,000 a day in purses down the road. They are also looking for GI Status of the PA Derby with the upping of that purse to a million, and by next year that purse could be more. The clamps are tightning around Maryland, and soon NJ and NY will feel it. Actually NY is already being impacted by what's going on at Philly to an extent.

PA Derby? Isn't that the race that didn't run last year?

Just playing. I actually placed a bet at Philly for the first time in 2 years today -- the racing has improved with the increased purses.

[rastajenk]

I've never understood or had any sympathy for the notion that some tracks should go under, or that the game would be better off with fewer tracks. What's the logic for that?

[Stevie Belmont]

Yea.....said it was due to the construction last year. They seem to really be intent on getting that money to help out the PA program. They will be serious player on the east coast, and for that matter the whole country the way they are going.

PS Im horrified by the avatar....lol

Bad Bad Memory....

[Cesario!]

PS Im horrified by the avatar....lol

Bad Bad Memory....

I keep it up (and watch that replay at least once a month) to remind me of the powerful emotions that this sport brings -- it's funny, but it took a really disappointing loss to turn me into a very serious fan.

And, every single time I watch it, I hope that Smarty Jones will persist...