"State Sen. Dick Day, a Republican from Owatonna, couldn't even get a hearing this session from DFL leadership for his perennial bill that would open Canterbury Park and the Running Aces horse track to slot machines.

The fact that Day's gambling expansion amendment to the Senate finance bill last week went down by only a 29-33 bipartisan vote spoke to how desperate legislators are to plug the projected $4.6 billion, two-year budget gap.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature face unpopular choices of spending cuts and tax increases.

The three Indian tribes closest to the Twin Cities have reason to worry about slot-machine competition that the Minnesota State Lottery and the Minnesota Horsemen's Grassroots Committee for Racinos estimate could raise $81,000 per machine, or up to $250 million in revenue annually by 2011.

Most legislators don't favor the expansion. But 20 years after the state negotiated a casino compact, there is less patience in St. Paul with the Minnesota tribes that operate the lucrative Mystic Lake, Prairie Island and Grand Casino operations, which are the Indian gaming operations closest to the Twin Cities.

Minnesota is one of the few states that has failed to negotiate consideration in lieu of corporate income and property taxes from Indian casinos. Meanwhile, the tribes spend several million dollars annually on campaign contributions, mostly to DFLers, and on more than three dozen professional lobbyists."

Get the Story:
Neal St. Anthony: Time for the state to look seriously at slot machines? (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 4/28)