“It’s going to be a very complicated and difficult negotiation.” So admits Unite-Here President Robert McDevitt of the mid-September scrum when all the casino collective bargaining agreements come up for renewal. McDevitt’s still tasting victory from last week’s vote at Revel Resort, where employees chose the union by approximately 80% of votes cast. Unite-Here’s message was that unionization would give the workforce a better chance at job security.
Revel President Scott Kreeger (right) is busy trying to sell the place (hence the employee anxiety). However, he issued a statement that he hoped to “foster a good relationship and work productively with Local 54 as the collective bargaining process begins.” That’s a refreshing contrast to some casino managements — particularly Donald Trump‘s — that have done everything possible to obstruct unionization. Still, Kreeger’s got an awful lot on his plate to have time for contract talks.
However, some casinos — perhaps many — are expected to be looking for union concession during the fall negotiations. A few (read: Borgata) don’t have to hang tough but it will interesting to see how united a front the industry presents.
Typo of the day: “Kirk Kevorkian [sic]”
I got a ‘horse’ right here … Faced with dwindling purses and racing handle (down 23% alike), Texas is grappling with the question of whether to institute “instant racing.” That’s where you bet on old races on a slot-machine like device — complete with bells and whistles to entice punters. Any identifying data on the horses involved has been stripped out, although bettors are privy to oddsmaking information such as they’d find in The Racing Form.
There are hangups, such as the fact that players aren’t betting against one another and the odds are static. All of which means the machines don’t constitute parimutuel wagering, making them highly unlikely to be approved. It’s a long shot but, if they were, casino gambling would have entered Texas by the back door. Instant racing is available in Kentucky and Arkansas, and proponents have used that as an argument for bringing it to the Lone Star State.
“The racing folks noticed that nowhere does the state law say that races must be live … The racetrack owners also are anticipating that they can 
make the change without having to ask lawmakers for their blessing,” reports the Austin American-Statesman. The Texas Racing Commission doesn’t have the authority to change the state’s definition of parimutuel, so it’s up to instant-racing proponents to make the case.
Opponents are banking on a 2006 Wyoming Supreme Court ruling that read, in part, “(W)e are not dealing with a new technology here, we are dealing with a slot machine that attempts to mimic traditional pari-mutuel wagering. Although it may be a good try, we are not so easily beguiled.” Oregon and Maryland have also rejected the machines.
It doesn’t help that instant-racing machines were designed to resemble slots. One of their primary innovators, Louis Cella of Arkansas’ Oaklawn Jockey Club says “We wanted it to look like a slot machine.” (Emphasis added.) That’s a little tough for some regulators to stomach.
True, the number of horse races in Texas has fallen 53% since 2009 but is instant racing going to bring race patrons back or simply draw slot fleas. at least the tax rate would probably be low, somewhere in the 1%-1.25% range
