Video poker under scrutiny

Phillip Rawls

Wednesday, March 7, 2001 | 10:28 a.m.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Dog tracks came up a winner when a Senate committee approved the addition of video gambling to try to boost sagging attendance.

The committee's Tuesday approval of the video gambling bill sets up another battle in the Senate, where similar legislation has died the last two years.

Lt. Gov. Steve Windom, who opposes the legislation, predicted the same outcome this year since the Senate's membership hasn't changed: "A majority of the Senate has said time after time they are opposed to it," he said.

But the bill's sponsor, Sen. Charles Steele, D-Tuscaloosa, said he believes the legislation has a better chance this year because video gambling machines would produce an estimated $20 million to $30 million annually for Alabama's troubled education budget.

"We need new revenue," he said.

Attendance at Alabama's four dog tracks has been falling ever since Georgia and Florida created state lotteries and Mississippi legalized casinos. For the first five months of this year, the state's pari-mutuel tax brought in $1.4 million, down from $1.5 million for the same period a year ago.

Smitherman's bill would allow the dog tracks in Jefferson, Greene, Mobile and Macon counties to add video gambling machines that rely on some degree of skill to win. Slot machines would be banned.

The legislation provides the state would get 10 percent of the revenue derived from the machines, and the local governments would get 5 percent.

The Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee approved the bill 3-2 Tuesday, with Sens. Charles Langford, D-Montgomery; George Callahan, R-Theodore and Steele voting for it. Sens. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, and Bill Armistead, R-Columbiana, voted against it.

Windom, the Senate's presiding officer, said the video gambling legislation is an example of how a powerful interest group like the dog track industry can get its bills back before the Senate year after year.

Armistead predicted the bill won't pass the Senate, but it will likely "bog down the Senate's business as it has in prior years."

That happens when opponents of the bill suspect it is going to be brought up for a vote and they use stalling tactics to keep it from coming up.

Langford said he sees support for the legislation growing due to the declining attendance and tax revenue from the dog tracks.

"Everybody wants to help that industry," he said.