Going into the final week of the 2016 regular session of the Legislature, there are two bills pending that would take away state subsidies for greyhound racing at racetrack casinos in Nitro and Wheeling - but the bills have one significant difference.
The Senate bill (SB641) would take the video lottery profits that go to greyhound purse and breeders' funds, estimated to drop to about $11 million in the coming budget year, for appropriation by the Legislature. The House bill (HB4625) dedicates that money to the state Road Fund.
However, the Senate bill "decouples" racing at the two casinos - meaning that Mardi Gras in Nitro and Wheeling Island would not have to have racing licenses and continue live racing as a condition to keep their video lottery and table games licenses.
There is no similar provision in the House bill, which John Cavacini, with the state Racing Association, said would be devastating for the two casinos.
Even with the subsidies - which a study last year by the Spectrum Gaming Group concluded accounts for 95 percent of greyhound purses - most greyhound kennels are barely breaking even.
Dan Adkins, a senior vice president for the corporation that runs Mardi Gras casino, said the House version of the bill would seemingly force the casinos to subsidize racing at the tracks to the tune of millions of dollars.
"What do we do? Do we lay off people? Cut amenities? Close down the hotel?" he asked.
As the Spectrum Gaming study noted, attendance and wagering on greyhound racing at the two tracks has dropped off precipitously since the 1990s. Adkins said it would be unreasonable to force casino management to offer a product, at great expense, that almost no one wants.
"It would be as if the state of Michigan told Ford, "You can keep building F-150s, which are really popular, but you're also required to keep building Model Ts that no one wants anymore," he said.
Cavacini said he's hopeful that the Legislature will either pass the Senate version of the bill, or that the Senate will amend the contents of the Senate bill into the House bill, which would likely send it to a House-Senate conference committee.
The Senate version is currently in a House Finance subcommittee, which discussed the bill Friday but took no action on it. The House bill is pending in the Senate Finance Committee.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.