New York race track slots delayed

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A plan to open 4,500 video lottery
terminals at a New York racetrack has been delayed, as the
project that would net the state more than $400 million
annually awaits regulatory approvals, a New York Racing
Association official said on Tuesday.

The association, a nonprofit that runs the Aqueduct race
track in New York, is waiting for the final approval for its
plan to install video lottery terminals, a type of slot
machine, along with casino operator MGM Mirage, said Bill
Nader, a senior vice president at the association.

The project, which promises the state about $1.2 million a
day in revenue, was earlier expected to open in the first
quarter of 2007. Now, Nader said, the facility would open about
a year from the time regulators approve it.

“We thought we would get the approval months ago,” Nader
said. “We just can’t seem to get to the finish line. I don’t
know what’s holding it up.”

MGM Mirage and the New York lottery regulators could not
immediately be reached for comment.

Video lottery terminals at Aqueduct, located about two
miles from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport,
will compete with casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey as well
as those in Connecticut’s Indian reservations.

Atlantic City, the second-largest U.S. gambling market, has
12 casinos, including those operated by Harrah’s Entertainment
Inc., Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. and Boyd Gaming Corp..

MGM Mirage has loaned the association $180 million for the
Aqueduct project and will manage the facility once it opens,
Nader said.