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Racetrack owners say no new vote required for slots

Wednesday, April 6, 2005 | 9:20 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- The owners of the Fair Grounds racetrack and some members of the City Council differ over whether local voters must decide whether the track can have up to 700 slot machines.

The New Orleans City Charter requires voter approval of casinos -- except for Harrah's New Orleans Casino.

But Churchill Downs' attorneys, in a recent letter to the city, said the Fair Grounds is an "eligible slots facility," not a casino, so no vote is needed.

Several City Council members have questioned whether approval of Orleans Parish voters is needed to amend the charter. In 2003, voters approved the concept of slot machines in a referendum designed to address state requirements.

Council members have asked City Attorney Sherry Landry for a legal opinion about whether the city's charter would need to be changed to allow slots at the Fair Grounds. Changing the charter would require a simple majority popular vote, creating a second referendum on slots at the track.

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