New Mexico Racino Transfer Close to Texas Border Sparks Tribal Gaming Backlash
- Tribal leaders warn Texas-facing racino transfer threatens on line casino income and jobs
- SunRay Park seeks relocation close to Clovis, citing steep income declines
- Regulators weigh financial growth towards market saturation and tribal impacts
A proposal to maneuver a northern New Mexico racetrack on line casino to the jap fringe of the state is sparking a well-recognized combat in states bordering gamble-free Texas: who will get the Texas greenback?
SunRay Park & On line casino in Farmington, N.M., whose homeowners are in search of to relocate the racino nearer to the Texas border. Tribal leaders say the transfer might divert playing income that helps jobs and public companies. (Picture: SunRay Park)
The New Mexico Racing Fee is weighing an utility to switch the gaming license for SunRay Park & On line casino, presently in Farmington in San Juan County, to a brand new web site close to Clovis in Curry County, nearer to the border.
Industrial racinos already function near the Texas line, together with Zia Park On line casino Lodge & Racetrack in southeastern New Mexico and Sunland Park Racetrack & On line casino close to El Paso.
Critics of the proposal say including one other racino inside straightforward driving distance of Texas dangers oversaturating the market whereas rising competitors for a similar pool of out-of-state gamblers.
Border Competitors
New Mexico’s tribal operators have warned regulators that shifting the venue eastward would intercept Texas gamblers who presently drive deeper into the state. That may impression income that helps tribal applications and jobs, The Santa Fe New Mexican stories.
In an open letter to the New Mexico Racing Fee (NMRC), dated January 27, Harry Antonio Jr., Governor of the Pueblo of Laguna, wrote the proposal represented a “renewed risk” to the tribe’s financial stability.
Antonio claimed it was “a reckless try and increase personal wealth on the expense of tribal governments that depend on gaming revenues to fund important governmental companies.”
New Mexico’s gaming panorama is cut up between tribal casinos working beneath state compacts and state-regulated racinos tied to horse racing. This typically creates friction every time a brand new venue, or, on this case, a relocated one, is proposed within the economically advantageous border area.
Racino Perspective
In a current assertion to the Tri-Metropolis Report, SunRay president Paul Blanchard blamed the enlargement of tribal gaming for an approximate 55% discount in revenues at his racino. This has hindered its means to compete successfully within the gaming market, he mentioned.
Blanchard claims his plans for a 200-acre web site east of Clovis, together with a on line casino, lodge and racetrack amenities, would generate about $14 million a yr in new state tax income.
In Farmington, native officers say the transfer will probably be an financial hit to New Mexico’s northwest nook, diminishing jobs and financial exercise.
The NMRC is scheduled to conduct a particular listening to on the problem on Friday, February 6, which is able to hear testimonies from stakeholders adopted by public remark, with a remaining choice on the proposal anticipated the next Tuesday.
