slots the magic bullet, and a bit of waxing poetic

[Cannon Shell]

They have some real ground breaking stuff in this article. Like live handle is decreasing on horseracing at tracks with slots. Really? No kidding? Well it is decreasing at tracks without slots too mostly because you dont have to actually drive to the track and bet like you did 20 years ago! They fail to mention that off track handle on places like Delaware is probably up 300% from 10 years ago. Of course things were great in West Virginia and Delaware 10 years ago when the tracks were all on the verge of going out of business!

The thought that slots would "make" horseplayers is and was a stupid idea. Slots give racetracks a chance to capture a segment of the gambling market that was not betting on the races but was very much competitive with their core business. By using a portion of the profits to boost purses these states have revitalized and perhaps salvaged the racing industry in Delaware and West Virginia. They have created jobs and saved jobs while funneling money back into the local communities and the state, where a standalone casino most likely owned and run by Las Vegas or foreign interests would take 100% of the money and run.

Many articles like this especially in states where issues like slots are hotly contested, I always get the feeling that the story is little more than a front for a politicians stand. Planted stories like this one seems to be, rarely examine the issue from both sides and often are too brief to really discuss the matter thoroughly.