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Southland preparing for new gaming machines Wednesday, Aug 30, 2006 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The president of Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis said Tuesday that new electronic games should be ready for patrons to play in November. Barry Baldwin also told the Arkansas Racing Commission that he expects the games to more than double the weekly purses offered by the dog track. Commission members on Tuesday got their first look at Southland's proposal to add electronic games of skill to the park. Baldwin said tentative plans include a "soft opening" to show off the new games to media and special guests on Oct. 28, and then to employees and their families on Oct. 29. At the end of each of those days, employees working in the new gaming area will be evaluated to be sure all procedures were followed, Baldwin said, adding that state officials also will be on hand to monitor their performance. He said the goal is to have everything ready for public use by Nov. 1, but that it could be the middle of the month before the official grand opening of the new gaming room, which will include 920 "Lock N Roll" machines. The games, 14 separate types, allow up to five people to sit together and play poker. Shelby McCook, the commission's racetrack manager, said the commission is expected to review Southland's security precautions and other internal controls in September, and could possibly begin reviewing the games as well. Baldwin also told the commission that once Southland opens with the new electronic games, the park will begin taking 14 percent of each week's revenue from the new games and using it to enhance greyhound purses at the park. He said he expects purses to more than double in the next year. In anticipation of the new gaming equipment, a $39 million expansion of the dog track is currently under way. Baldwin said he hopes the new 110,000-square-foot addition, which will include a gaming room, nightclub and bar, special events center and 280-seat buffet, will be open before the end of the year. "We're pretty excited," Baldwin said. Eric Jackson, general manager of Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, said he plans to file his application for gaming equipment in the fall. He added it might be a while before Oaklawn patrons begin seeing the new games because the horse track must add additional space first. Plans for expanding the track will not begin until after the state Supreme Court rules on an appeal of the vote last year to approve the expansion of gaming at the facility, he said. Act 1151 of 2005, which became law without the signature of Gov. Mike Huckabee, allowed Southland and Oaklawn to ask their communities for special elections to expand gambling. Voters in Hot Springs, the home of Oaklawn Park, and West Memphis, where Southland is located, approved the expansion of electronic gaming during special elections last year. The Family Action Council Committee later sued, arguing that because the elections were citywide, county residents were unfairly denied the right to vote. Judges in both cases ruled in favor of the tracks, finding that the new law is constitutional. The decision in Garland County has been appealed to the state Supreme Court. Also Tuesday, Jackson said the second day of a job fair for the 200 new jobs available at Southland is to end today. Tuesday, more than 600 people attend the first day of the job fair and applied for jobs. |
