Opinion

Randy Galloway: Kickapoo Tribe opposes historical horse racing machines

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Lucky Eagle Casino on the Kickapoo Reservation in Texas. Photo from Facebook

In his farewell column for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Randy Galloway looks at some of the interests -- including the Kickapoo Tribe -- that are fighting the expansion of gaming in Texas:

I did ask this question of local and statewide Tea Party politicians who are strongly against historic racing machines:
Have you ever taken contributions from casinos or racetracks who don’t want Texas tracks to have the machines?
Only one, Matt Krause, a local state representative, had the guts to answer. Thank you, Matt. Yes, Krause took $5,000 from the small-time but money-flowing Kickapoo Casino in Eagle Pass, the state’s only casino.
The Kickapoo tribe is strongly fighting the racing machines, and so is a man named Tilman Fertitta, a Texan who owns the Gold Nugget casino in Lake Charles, La.
What follows is a rundown of money from Fertitta and the Kickapoos given to our state’s politicians. This comes courtesy of followthemoney.org, and it’s only a drop in the bucket from the ongoing money flow to fight horse racing in Texas.
Plus, if you ever wondered why the casino issue in Texas can’t come up for a public vote, read the following:
Dan Patrick, the Lt. Governor and very anti-horse racing and anti-casino: $110,000 from the Kickapoos, $22,000 from Locke Lord, the lobby for Mr. Fertitta and $128,000 from Fertitta himself.

Get the Story:
Randy Galloway: After a half-century, the party’s over for Randy Galloway (The Fort Worth Star-Telegram 12/27)