Friday, May 2, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Larry was doing double duty in the back row of the Palace Station race book, trying to handicap the dogs at Derby Lane in Florida while trying to hit the first race at Aqueduct in New York.
He wasn't alone in his endeavor. But he wasn't elbow-to-elbow with fellow horse players, either.
Such are the times throughout Las Vegas and Nevada. The booming race book industry, which thanks to pari-mutuel wagering has seen a dramatic increase in wagering from $126 million in 1991 to over half a billion dollars last year, has stagnated and is starting to fall.
At some books, the handle is down 40 to 50 percent. Two longtime establishments -- the Sahara and the Aladdin -- closed their race books. The win margin is down statewide as well. Books that were packed on weekends and doing good business during the week are now playing to half-empty rooms on Saturday and Sunday. Early in the week, many places are closer to empty than full.
Credit the signal blackout from the California tracks, now in its seventh month, for a big part of that stagnation. Back in November, the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association was unable to reach an agreement with Hollywood Park, which wanted a 4.2 percent cut instead of the 3.5 percent Nevada was paying for the signal.
The blackout spread when Santa Anita, which had a binding contract with the NPA, was told it could not honor the deal because the Thoroughbred Owners of California, which has final say-so on all deals involving the California tracks, said the contract was invalid.
Santa Anita's winter-spring meet has come and gone and Hollywood is once again running. The blackout remains in effect.
The tracks have felt the pinch, too. Millions have been lost by the tracks and the horsemen, not to mention the goodwill between the parties.
At a crossroads
Like the sport itself, the race book industry is at a crossroads. Keeping current customers happy while trying to entice new blood to become regulars remains the No. 1 challenge.
You won't notice any problems Saturday. Go into any race book in town and it'll be wall-to-wall
people studying the racing form, sharing information, going over selections.
Of course, Saturday is Kentucky Derby Day. Along with the Breeders' Cup, it's horse racing's biggest day of the year. It's a day where people who don't know a fetlock from a furlong watch the best 3-year-olds negotiate 1 1/4 miles in just over two minutes.
And those who watch tend to wager. Millions of dollars will pour through the windows between now and post time Saturday at 2:30 p.m. It will be bedlam in the books.
But what happens Sunday? The issues facing the industry won't go away in two minutes.
"This is like any other business," said Larry, chomping on an unlit cigar. "You need three things to be successful. You have to know your product. You need a good location and you have to have sufficent capital."
You also have to create new customers. For the racing industry, that's not a new premise. The question is how do you do it? Some tracks try giveaways. Others have concerts. New York is preparing to offer rebates to its big players, as much as 5 percent for those who play over $100,000 a month.
The race book industry has done all of those things and then some. The Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook was packed this week as its Pick The Ponies Invitational X was being staged. Two hundred players paid a $600 entry fee for a chance to take home the $45,600 first prize.
Race and sports director Art Manteris said it's expensive to put on such contests and the profit the Hilton derives from them is slim. Yet he believes promotion is the way to go.
"I'm very concerned about the future," Manteris said. "The industry in general has failed to market themselves properly to bring in younger fans. They've had an elitist attitude, sat on their laurels and let the world pass them by.
"We're in danger of letting an entire generation slip past us without exposing them to a wonderful product."
More TV exposure
Many believe television is the answer. More exposure could equate to more interest among young people.
Vic Salerno, owner of the statewide Leroy's betting establishments, wanted to start a home televised betting network. The plan called for air time to be bought on Prime Cable and the entire Southern and Northern California cards would be shown.
Bettors would be required to have a phone account. Once established, they could pick up the phone, place their bets and watch from the comfort of their living room.
It has worked in other areas of the country and it would have meant an end to the California blackout. But after some Strip casinos fought the measure a week ago in Carson City, Salerno withdrew his proposal. The blackout remains in effect.
That doesn't mean it's dead. In fact, Salerno is convinced it will be the industry's next shot in the arm.
"We need to expose horse racing like the other sports have," he said. "Why do you think the sports book industry is booming? People are exposed to all sports so they're more educated about it and feel more confident betting on sports."
Several establishments already have set up phone accounts for Nevada customers who want to play the ponies.
Meanwhile, those who play regularly find themselves caught in the middle of the California dispute.
Bill, visiting from Michigan, was sitting in the Binion's Horseshoe race book, looking to get out at Churchill Downs. He already was stuck $400 and his prospects for getting even this day weren't bright.
"I come out here because I love to bet California," he said while glancing at his racing form. "But when I got out here, I found out the signal was blacked out. I thought they had settled it.
"But I'm not going to bet on something I couldn't watch, so I'm betting Churchill Downs, Aqueduct, the better tracks."
Alternative tracks found
That's what a lot of people are doing. They merely shift gears, find another track and try to pick winners there. Katherine Manix, the race book director at the Horsehoe, sympathizes with Bill. That's why she and many of her colleagues have brought in signals from other tracks.
The new Lone Star Park outside of Dallas has been popular at the Horseshoe. Prairie Meadows in Iowa also is sending its signal to Las Vegas for the first time. Ditto at Delaware Park.
"Our regular players have been adaptable," Manix said. "We haven't been hurt by it (the blackout)."
It's too early to tell how much of a positive impact importing signals from places like Hastings Park in Vancouver, Sha Tin in Hong Kong, Lone Star and Delaware will have. But it does increases the menu of options for the players and the smaller tracks like the exposure to thousands of potential Nevada customers.
But when you talk to the players, it's not so much which signals the books are bringing in but the quality of the signal, the ability to get a bet down without being shut out, and easy access to wagering information.
Last November, the Gaming Control Board permitted books to keep betting windows open until the final horse was loaded into the starting gate. The rule previously required betting to close when the first horse entered the gate.
It gives the player a couple of extra minutes to wager and helps lower the risk of getting shut out.
Paul, a cab driver who plays at the Fiesta, said the ability to watch and hear your race where you want and when you want is paramount.
"I like the places that have the individual TVs," he said. "That way, I'm guaranteed I can see what I'm betting on."
Several race books have started clubs in which a player gets points for his or her action. The points are redeemed for merchandise, meals or shows.
And many books have spent millions remodeling and upgrading their establishments. Keith Glantz, who was a mainstay at the Palace Station for years and recently returned after helping start up the Hard Rock Hotel's race and sports operation, said his players told him what they wanted.
Listen and learn
"You have to have communication," he said. "We improved the quality of the TVs and the sound. We added more seats. We made the room brighter. We started a club for our players to get points. Those were the things they told us they wanted."
And Glantz believes in promoting. He'll give away 150 Kentucky Derby hats, shirts and other apparel Saturday to anyone placing a $10 Derby bet. The Twin Q, a popular promotional in-house bet in which players must pick the winning quiniellas (the first two horses to cross the wire in either order) in two separate races at separate tracks, has a large following.
"We need to promote our product like everything else in the casino," he said. "I have to market racing as a product for me to exist. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get people into my book."
Other establishments are similarly proactive in a competitive market.
"The key is new blood," said John Avello of Bally's, one of the establishments which has built a new race book. "We've got to give people a reason to come in. And once they've come in, we've got to give them a reason to stay, and more important, a reason to come back."
Vinny Magliulo, director of race and sports at Caesars Palace, said if the tracks and the books work together great things can be accomplished.
"I think the biggest concern is the stability and the future of the product," he said. "Everything is associated. All the proponents prosper or struggle together."
End the blackout
But before that can happen, Nevada and California must reach an agreement and get the signal from the California tracks back on the screens.
"It has definitely hurt, no question," Avello said of the blackout. "It's a lose-lose situation for everyone. The only ones who've made out on this is the media. They have something to write about.
"A lot of our big players are still playing, but not as much as they would if they had the signal."
Most enterprises that lost 40-50 percent of their business would be calling looking to file for bankruptcy. But because the race book makes up just over 1 percent of a casino's hold, most establishments can weather the storm.
But then there's the goodwill factor with the customers, which can't be ignored.
"Basically, what concerns me is we're not getting all of the product we should be getting," said Paul the cabbie. "It's so petty what's going on. Before the blackout, they were going in a good direction. Now, it's like they went backwards."
But not all players are complaining. They're being treated better than ever thanks to the competition in the industry. And that doesn't figure to change.
"I think the race books are doing their part," said Larry, who was alive in the double at Derby Lane. "A lot of them listen to the customers. Take this place (Palace Station). You've got free forms, free drinks, points. The people are friendly.
"It's as close to paradise as a horse player can find."
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