Paul's Ponderings

Well, it appears that Kentuckians will still have to cross a river or jump on an airplane if they want to continue to stick money in slot machines after the House-passed bill to legalize video slots at racetracks was killed in a Senate committee this week, never reaching the Senate floor for a full vote.
I'm no fan of slot machines - be they video or whatever other type. I think I put about $5 in one the first time I ever went to a casino (the one in Indiana near Henderson, KY), and that mainly just to say that I'd played one. Slot machines remind me a whole lot of the illegal old video poker machines that you used to find in poolrooms, restaurants, truck stops and country stores all across the state until the law cracked down on them. I can still recall what I consider the most truthful statement I've ever heard said about the old video poker machines, and I'm sure it applies to slot machines too. I can't remember who said it, but the statement was "You ain't got no business fooling with anything that will back its rear end up against a wall and take on all comers."
However, judging from all the statistics that people keep flinging about, there are apparently a whole lot of Kentuckians who enjoy playing the slots and engaging in the other gambling choices offered by the casinos in nearby states, as they spend millions and millions of dollars a year doing it.
The one thing I am a fan of is horse racing, something that Kentucky is known around the world for. Folks who live in all parts of the world and possibly know nothing about Kentucky other than it is a part of the United States of America know about the Kentucky Derby. And, our state is world famous for producing thoroughbreds that race all over the United States and everywhere else there is racing.
However, it appears that unless something is done to help our race tracks compete with race tracks in states that have casino or casino-style gambling from which revenues are used to supplement race purses and breeding programs, we soon may not be racing year-round. Keenland will continue to have it's short spring and fall meets, and Churchill Downs will remain, although with fewer racing days and fewer and lower-quality races. The outlook for Ellis Park in western Kentucky and Turfway Park in northern Kentucky is bleak.
The video slot bill would have provided significant funds to boost horse racing and the horse industry as a whole, and also would have provided funding for much needed school construction. But, Senate President David Williams made sure that it never came to the Senate for a full vote.
Like I stated earlier, I'm no fan of slot machines, but if Kentuckians are going to travel out of state to play them, why not keep that money at home? If the House and Senate pass a bill to allow the slots at horse tracks, at least the matter should be put on the ballot and let the voters decide one way or another.
It seems I need to make a clarification about the new ferry at Turkey Neck Bend on the Cumberland River which I wrote about a couple of weeks ago in this column. In the column, I stated that I was told the reason the ferry wasn't being used was because the ramp to offload vehicles wasn't long enough. This is not the case.
I received a very nice e-mail letter from Keirsten Jaggers, Public Information Officer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 3 office in Bowling Green that explained that the ferry itself is constructed correctly, but its not yet in use due to new U.S. Coast Guard regulations. According to Jaggers, the Coast Guard is now requiring the Transportation Cabinet to have two people on board 24 hours a day, seven days a week, instead of the one person operating the old ferry. Jaggers said that they are still in the process of hiring they extra personnel they need, and once they are hired, they must complete quite a bit of training. Once all this is done, and additional safety equipment is acquired, the new ferry, which has been named the Sloan, will be put in operation.
At least I got the part about government bureaucracy messing things up, I just blamed it on the wrong agency.