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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesSenate Committee Delays Action on Racetrack-Casino Bill

Senate Committee Delays Action on Racetrack-Casino Bill

A bill to bring racinos — or racetrack casinos — to the territory was amended by senators Monday but held in committee for another 60 days to allow time for more changes, which could settle some outstanding financial and legal issues raised by testifiers.

More specifically, St. Croix racetrack promoter Traxco said the Racetrack Gaming Tax established in the bill would force the company to turn over more money than it can afford. The bill — which emerged at the end of Monday’s Housing, Sports and Veteran’s Affairs Committee as an amendment in the nature of a substitute sponsored by Sen. Neville James — imposes a 22.5-percent tax on the racino’s gross monthly revenues.

According to James’ calculations, that means if Traxco makes $1 million in a month, it gets to keep $775,000, while the remaining $225,000 will be divided up between the government (which will get 51.5 percent, or $115,875), the St. Croix Horsemen Association (38 percent), the St. Croix Certified Thoroughbred Program (6 percent), the St. Croix Hospitality Training Fund (3 percent) and 1.5 percent for capital improvement and maintenance at the St. Croix racetrack.

But Traxco representatives have said their losses at the track are high and favor a 16-percent tax that would allow them to collect $840,000, which James said after the meeting is well above the industry standard.

Meanwhile, Casino Control Commission Director Gizette Thomas said the bill goes against the existing Casino Control Act, which requires all casino gaming rooms to be part of hotels and restaurants, instead of standalone establishments. She said the introduction of VLTs on St. Thomas, a form of gaming that "closely resembles" slot machines, could also be construed as a violation of the act, which was set up to bring casino gaming to St. Croix only.

The amendment in the nature of a substitute authorizes the commission to issue one racino license for St. Thomas — which would allow for video lottery terminals (VLTs) at the Clinton Phipps Racetrack — and one for St. Croix, which would allow for slot machines at the Randall "Doc" James Racetrack.

"Operational slot machines or VLTs may be located only in the building or structure adjacent to or within which the grandstand area of the racetrack is located, or in the area of the building or structure where parimutuel wagering is permitted," according to the amendment.

Several senators also said during Monday’s meeting that the law allows for VLTs to be set up anywhere on St. Thomas. Others, such as committee chairman Sen. Celestino A. White Sr., also pointed out that the bill only allows for machines to be set up, not full-fledged casinos that allow for other games such as craps, roulette and blackjack.

At the end of the meeting, both issues were still up in the air.

"This bill has pretty much taken on a life of its own," James said to senators. "And we basically have two things to consider. First, are we radically deviating from the Casino Control Act and second, what level of taxation will be apply if we decide to deviate?"

Otherwise, the amendment generally garnered support from many other groups Monday, but Housing, Parks and Recreation Commissioner St. Claire N. Williams made sure to point out that there are no real provisions made in the proposal for St. Thomas, even though the amendment allows for the setting up of VLTs.

More specifically, the section dealing with the racetrack gaming tax doesn’t set percentages for St. Thomas, while another section laying out how the revenues will be distributed also only applies to St. Croix, Williams explained.

James pointed out later that Clinton Phipps currently has no promoter and has been run by Housing, Parks and Recreation for the past few years.

The St. Croix Horseracing Commission should also get a portion of the revenue, commission head Wayne L. Biggs said during the meeting. The Island Horse Welfare Foundation, represented Monday by Lynn Utech, also made a plea for 2 percent of the racino revenues, which would be deposited into the organizations Horse Rescue and Retirement Fund.

The committee also approved bills:

— authorizing the governor to negotiate with Veterans Resource and Development for the return of unused land at the former V.I. hotel site, which will be used for the construction of low-income housing units and single-family houses for veterans; and

— creating a V.I. Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

Present during Monday’s meeting were Sens. Craig W. Barshinger, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Louis P. Hill, Neville James, Wayne James, Usie R. Richards, Patrick Simeon Sprauve, Alvin L. Williams and White.

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