Illinois racetrack Arlington Park wants to bring in slots. That’s not uncommon in the world of racing. Since the recession, racetracks have taken a huge hit and have yet to even come close to reaching the heights of popularity they once had. During the economic downturn people had to cut back on everything…that meant everything from groceries and dining out to cable and clothing. People had to rework their budgets and think more frugally than ever. Racetracks were the last thing on people’s minds when struggling with bills. Consumers stopped all entertainment expenses and that included racing. Since the recession, racetracks throughout the world have all suffered. Many have had to cutback and others had to file for bankruptcy protection to sustain operations.

That brings Illinois’ Arlington Park into the mix. The racetrack wants to take the same road that a lot of other racetracks have and start bringing in slot machines to increase revenues. Slot machines have a history of performance throughout their lifespan. From the late 1800s slots have been highly attractive to gamblers. Though the games began in San Francisco, places as far away at New York were clammoring for a slot machine of their own. The reason was that small pubs and bars immediately realized how lucrative the games were and how effective they were at attracting a new customer base.

Now Arlington Park is falling on the same argument. To increase revenues, they must start offering something new. When Illinois decided to bring in slot machines for the bars and restaurants, there was no discussion. Counties were told to be prepared that 45,000 slot machines were coming to the state, and that if they had any questions they could ask them after they were already legalized. However, as they quickly saw, more than 40 of the governmental bodies that have the option of bringing in slot machines have voted against them. That means that former projections of revenue from slots are highly overestimated.  Now the state is left to rethink how much money will actually be coming into state coffers. It may not be difficult to get slots legalized, but bringing in the number of slots first anticipated is most likely off the table for now. Only time will tell where the state’s slots plan will be in years. Hopefully legislators will come up with a plan that maximizes slots revenue, without threatening the public.

On October 13^th 1927 Arlington Park Racetrack was opened in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The horse racing venue has been popular since and has brought in millions of visitors over the years. at one time Chicago had over six major horse racing tracks in other metropolitan areas, but Arlington Park was the location of the first horse race with a million-dollar purse in 1981. The racetrack was founded by California businessman Harry D. Brown. Upon its opening, the racetrack brought in over 20,000 people to watch the races.

The racetrack was premiere in its product and offered groundbreaking technologies to the market. It was the first racetrack to install a public-address system for its patrons and the first to add an electronic totalisator. A totalisator allows a credible tote board and decreases time between races. It also offered a photo camera to memorialize the races’ ending runs. It also was the home of the first million-dollar thoroughbred game—The Arlington Million.

The new phase of the racetrack industry is to bring in slot machines to the locations and Arlington Park is no different. The park is waiting on Illinois approval, however to make the move. When the state first make the move to bring in slot machines to bars, clubs and restaurants, the move was welcomed with anticipation of new revenues. Counties were told they would be receiving 45,000 machines to help bring in much needed money to their jurisdictions.

Though there was hope that the machine would be able to turnaround the lagging racing market, more than forty counties made moves to veto the slot machine plan. They turned against the move. This cuts into the amount of revenues the counties were told they would get and now it is not sure how much money each will be getting. The initial estimate was for $200 million. Now that number is up in the air. Critics cited the figure to be overestimated greatly and say that proponents of slot machines are trying to sway legislators and voters to support the move. Only time will tell whether or not the slot machines will be approved, or if the state will have to move on without the additional revenue.