Amendment 33 veiled issue according to opponents

Games of chance will hang in the balance on Nov. 4 as voters consider Amendment 33. If approved, this proposed constitutional amendment would place video lottery terminals at each of Colorado's five existing racetracks, including Post Time Greyhound Racing in Colorado Springs on North Nevada Avenue.

Video lottery terminals function the same as slot machines but pay off with coupons to redeem for cash, or more play, not cash itself. VLTs, as they are known, also come under control of Colorado's Lottery Commission rather than the Gaming Commission, an important point as proponents and opponents of the amendment square off for the fight to win votes.

The campaign in favor of Amendment 33 touts the tourism payoff to businesses because a portion of the VLT proceeds will be given to local parks and recreation, state parks and Great Outdoors Colorado - an anticipated maximum of $25 million by the program's second year.

We're losing taxes due to lack of promotion of tourism, says Rachel Chapparo, spokesperson for the campaign in favor of Amendment 33. It will create jobs and make the economy stronger.

Ilene Kamsler, president of the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association, agrees. She represents a group of hoteliers who control about 40,000 rooms, more than 50 percent of all lodging in the state. Like it our not, Colorado is in heavy-duty competition with other states for tourism dollars. We will continue to lose market shares unless we get more money.

For us it's all about tourism and the knowledge that there would be $25 million of new money. We're never going to get new money from the state legislature any other way.

Colorado Springs City Council, El Paso County Commissioners, the local chamber of commerce, the city's Convention and Visitor's Bureau, as well as many citizens of Manitou Springs and Cripple Creek have spoken against the amendment, though all seem to agree the state needs to increase its tourism promotion.

This is not about tourism, this is about gambling, explains State Representative Bill Cadman, District 15. The amendment would place 500 VLTs at each racetrack to start, with no provisions for a future limit on machines, but a provision that allows only the existing tracks to act as vendors for video lottery, plus install VLTs at gaming town casinos. It creates a monopoly of casino gaming and gives precedence to one company, enforced by the state, he says.

The impact of gaming machines at the dog tracks also is not addressed, according to Dan May, the assistant district attorney for Colorado Springs. It was1992 when Cripple Creek allowed gaming, and in 1993 that city experienced a 64 percent rise in felonies. And 40 percent of other crimes, such as traffic violations and misdemeanors, are directly related to gaming, he says.

Right now we have gaming impact funds that come from the state, through grants, for the communities that are impacted, when we can demonstrate what the impact is. Amendment 33 makes no provisions for funds back to communities that experience the impact of gambling, he says. Another concern of the DA's office is that because the Lottery Commission is mandated to maximize profits, it would lower the age to 18 for using the VLTs. So concern rises for enforcement to prevent underage drinking and gambling as high-schools kids with false IDs come into play.

Finally, May opposes the amendment because there are no background checks or licensing for vendors of the terminals. Under the gaming commission rules, everyone involved with gaming at a casino has to be licensed, including the company stockholders, and those licenses can be revoked. No such provision exists in Amendment 33.

It's just not the right means to the end, according to Leslie Lewis, executive director of the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce and its 270 member businesses. The chamber listened to spokesmen from both sides of the issue before presenting a position.

It's a touchy one because they (proponents) are calling it a tourism promotion, and for an organization such as ours that is so tourism focused, it was a difficult decision, she said. As much as we believe a permanent source of market funding needs to be found, we don't believe that Amendment 33 is the right vehicle. Tourism promotion is so critical to our area, and certainly we've seen the decline of tourism when we lost the dedicated tax. But while they talk about $25 million, there are no guarantees. It's speculation at this point.

Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce president Will Temby says, while the hospitality business and tourism is a huge economic cluster in the Pikes Peak region, he opposes the passing of Amendment 33.

Our concern is that they're building their campaign around the altruism of tourism. The real benefit is to those who profit from gambling. I believe they looked around and found a beneficiary that resonates with the public. Amending 33 is hugely about gambling.

Temby said the chamber expresses concern about its proponents' campaign - and its lack of focus on source of income for the tourism promotion dollars. They also question the ethics of Wembley USA, owner of four racetracks in the state, including Post Time.

London-based Wembley came under indictment in Rhode Island on Sept. 9 for allegedly bribing an elected official and blocking casino development there by Narragansett Indians.

That state voters, not just local, get the chance to expand gambling into Colorado Springs particularly upsets Jim Bensberg, El Paso County Commissioner of District 5. The disadvantages far outweigh the advantages of Amendment 33, and I do not favor it, he says. Besides, it will cost the state $12,000 to purchase each of the VLTs, gaining only a $500 one-time licensing fee from the vendors. If gaming shifts from Cripple Creek to Colorado Springs, the city would not only lose revenues from its impact, it wouldn't gain any new ones to deal with gaming and crime impacts here, he adds.

The amendment requires no track hold horse or dog races once VLTs are in place, and in fact, the local Post Time track has missed its deadline for a gaming license for 2004, says Bensberg. This removes any semblance of local control. I'm not opposed to gambling, and I'm in favor of tourism promotion, but I don't think this is the answer to promote tourism, he says.

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