Legislation that could clear the way for Del Pointe Resort & Casino is still pending in the House Gaming & Parimutuels Committee and could die there as the General Assembly moves toward the end of session Tuesday, June 30.
Rep. John Viola, D-Newark, gaming committee chairman, said House Bill 194 had not been placed on the agenda for a hearing. He said he knows the legislation wasn’t scheduled for a hearing because he’s responsible for setting the agenda.
Viola said rumors that he cancelled the hearing or pulled the measure are absolutely false.
“At this point in time, with four days of session left, no budget, and being 6 7, or 800 million dollars down and all kinds of things being discussed but nothing’s passed, I think that’s where our focus should be,” Viola said, Monday, June 22.
Viola is also chairman of the House Revenue & Finance Committee.
Viola said he favors House Substitute 1 for House Bill 100, a measure that has passed the House and Senate requiring a study proving that additional slots facilities would be in the best interest of taxpayers, the state and those who would be employed by the operations.
The study would have to be completed by Oct. 15, 2009.
Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, is primary sponsor of House Bill 194. The measure would allow the holder of a valid Delaware harness racing license granted as of Sept. 1, 2008, the right to become a video lottery – slots – agent.
Del Point is the only entity that meets that requirement. The facility is planned for a parcel that has been annexed by the Town of Millsboro. The proposed one-mile harness racing track and casino would occupy a portion of a 300-acre site adjacent to Route 113 north of the town’s center.
Del Pointe developers say building and operating a harness-racing-only venue – without a slots casino – would be a money loser.
Developers also say that without the slots operation, Del Pointe’s proposed family-oriented amenities such as a water park, indoor sports complex, paintball park, movie theaters and restaurants, wouldn’t be economically feasible.
If Del Pointe does become operational as a racino it would be Sussex County’s first and the state’s fourth. Delaware Park Racetrack and Slots operates a thoroughbred horse racetrack and casino in New Castle County and also owns Ocean Downs Racetrack, near Ocean City, Md.
Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and Harrington Raceway & Casino operate harness racing tracks in Kent County.
Group forms to promote Del Pointe
|
