If slot machines are coming to St. Croix’s Randall "Doc" James horse track, it won’t be right away, as the Committee on Housing, Sports and Veterans Affairs in Frederiksted voted to hold a "racino" — or racetrack casino — bill in committee Monday for revisions.
The bill aims to help finance the struggling horse-racing industry on St. Croix by using some of the proceeds from slot machines to increase race purses and promote racing. The bill is supported by Traxco, owners of the Randall "Doc" James racetrack on St. Croix, along with horse breeders, racers, some prominent native Virgin Islanders who support horse racing as a cultural tradition, and the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce. Hotel developers and others say it contradicts the purpose of the V.I. Casino Control Act of 1995, which allowed casinos only in hotels and only on St. Croix as a way of trying to attract hotel development, which would then bring in more air flights and more tourism.
Susan Varnes, president of Traxco, said the racetrack is losing more than a million dollars a year. The company has lost more than $6 million since taking over the track in 2004 and needs the revenues from slots to keep it open, she said. Traxco and St. Croix’s one casino, Divi Carina Bay Casino, are both owned by Mississippi-based resort and casino chain Treasure Bay. Garret Ritter, vice president of the St. Croix Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, said horse owners were for promotion of horse racing on all fronts, including casino gambling at the track, so long as enough of the gambling money went to promote horse racing.
"Any racino must supplement purses for the horsemen," Ritter said.
Michael Dembeck, executive director of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce, said chamber members were largely in favor, but some were concerned that weakening the casino control act would hurt hotel development.
Gizette Thomas, the director of the Casino Control Commission, said the bill flatly contradicted the policy set up in the casino control act requiring all casino gaming rooms to be integral parts of hotels and resorts, never stand-alone gambling establishments. While it may help the racing industry, before reversing course on a major long-term policy the government should carefully consider a single, coherent policy toward casino gambling, she said.
"At what point do we stop using casinos as the savior of every industry,?" she asked.
Voting to keep the bill in committee for revision were Sens. Wayne James, Louis Hill, Patrick Sprauve, Alvin Williams and Celestino White. Sen. Usie Richards had just stepped out and was absent for the vote, as was Sen. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg. Sen. Neville James, the bill’s sponsor, was present though he is not a member of the committee.
