As reported by: The Press of Atlantic City
The casino industry could approve an agreement as soon as this afternoon to add $86 million to horse-racing purses over the next four years.

In exchange, the horse-racing industry would postpone its pursuit of video lottery terminals at the state's three racetracks.

New Jersey Casino Association President Dennis Gomes said he would present the details of a potential agreement to association members at today's monthly meeting.

"Once we discuss it, we'll hopefully have an agreement," said Gomes, who is also president of resort operations for Tropicana Casino and Resort parent Aztar Corp. "It depends on if everyone agrees on what we've put together. I think there's a high probability."

The Governor's Office has been overseeing negotiations between the casino and horse-racing industries for several months now, but the pace accelerated considerably during the past two weeks. Both sides met again at the Statehouse on Monday.

The horse-racing industry hopes the latest meeting is the last one. The state's three racetracks - Meadowlands, Monmouth Park and Freehold Raceway - plan to issue "condition books" this week that help determine the quality of race horses they can attract for the upcoming season. Adding $20 million to next year's purse money would help the racetracks attract better horses.

Atlantic City Race Course, in Hamilton Township, which holds only a handful of live races each year, is not part of the deal.

Horse-racing advocates contend casinos should help fatten race purses because the industry damaged the sport when it opened in Atlantic City 25 years ago. Adding slot machines would keep New Jersey horse racing on par with neighboring states that already have added the machines or plan to add them. The only other way to keep pace, horse-racing supporters say, is with purse subsidies.

On the other side, casino advocates say the number and quality of jobs racing provides does not compare with the Atlantic City gaming industry. U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, questioned why the state would want to take money from an economic engine to help a faltering business.

"They've tried all kinds of things (to save horse racing)," LoBiondo said. "If it's not working, it's not working. If casinos are expected to bail out horse racing, I think that's wrong."

However, the relationship between state government and the casino industry has vastly improved from a year ago when the Casino Association paid for radio ads criticizing McGreevey's proposal to increase the casino-revenue tax.

"Having communication is a positive thing," Gomes said. "We've been involved in (negotiations) every step of the way. We came up with a lot of it. It's been a give and take on both sides. At no point did anybody try to dictate what the terms would be."

The casino industry, backed by Wall Street analysts, contends adding slot machines at the northern end of the state would cut significantly into casino profits in Atlantic City. The purse subsidy agreement, Gomes said, would bring stability to both industries.