Gaming briefs for Sept. 2, 2003

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

Officials worry about neon clutter in casino district

SHREVEPORT, La. -- Development around casinos has town officials worried increasingly about the potential for a streetscape cluttered with flashing neon signs, billboards and banners.

The city has scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday afternoon on the matter and hopes to draft an ordinance to regulate such signs.

"Certainly, every business needs to advertise, but we have to be cautious of how we let them proceed," Mayor Keith Hightower said. "We don't want a field of lollipops down in the (Red River District) and we don't want a bunch of banners hanging around in an unsightly fashion either."

City Council Chairman Monty Walford, who represents the Red River District, led a city effort to place a six-month moratorium on signs in downtown Shreveport while an ordinance is prepared.

"We've certainly seen a changing character in the downtown area. I thought it was wise to do a moratorium and come up with a good, effective and fair ordinance," Walford said.

Racetracks have trouble finding parlor sites

INDIANAPOLIS -- A seating requirement is hindering Indiana racetracks' efforts to find locations for off-track betting parlors that provide the bulk of the tracks' profits.

State law requires every betting parlor to have 400 seats and full-service fine dining, but that requirement has proved difficult to meet even in Fort Wayne, with a population of 220,000.

Hoosier Park's betting parlor in Fort Wayne just broke even in 2001, taking in $17.1 million.

Hoosier Park, in Anderson, also has parlors in Indianapolis and Merrillville. The state allows each track to have four off-track betting parlors, or OTBs, but Hoosier Park has yet to find a suitable location for its fourth parlor.

Indiana Downs of Shelbyville asked the state Horse Racing Commission for permission to open a betting parlor in Indianapolis, but officials denied the request last month.