Tuesday is the target date that Mardi Gras hopes its 1,147 slots will start spinning, said Dan Adkins, Mardi Gras' chief gaming executive. But the opening could be pushed back to as late as Friday because the track is waiting for state regulators to approve some employees' operational licenses, Adkins said. He hopes to announce an opening date this week.
"I don't want to open the doors until I personally am comfortable that we are ready to go from every angle," Adkins said. Mardi Gras' slots room Wednesday passed a second round of inspections by the state Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. The track corrected a series of problems noted by regulators in a Dec.
11 inspection, including issues related to counterfeit currency, handbag theft and panic-alarm procedures. Adkins said opening Dec. 26 would be exciting because the day after Christmas once was the start of the track's racing season before it went year-round.
Some longtime patrons still show up Dec. 26 just to commemorate the day, Adkins said. A November 2004 statewide referendum allowed Broward voters to decide whether they wanted Class III -- traditional -- slots at their four pari-mutuels: Mardi Gras, Gulfstream Park, Pompano Park Harness Track and Dania Jai-Alai.
The Seminole Tribe currently has Class II slots -- bingo-style machines -- at its seven Florida casinos, but is pushing to get the more lucrative, traditional slot machines. The Seminoles are awaiting word from the U.S.
Department of the Interior on federal regulations that would allow them to have Class III slots if Florida fails to reach a gaming agreement with the Tribe, said Gary Bitner, the Tribe's spokesman. Gulfstream Park Racing Casino's slots netted $3.43 million in revenue within its first 16 days.
Half of all slots revenue goes to Florida's schools. The state has projected $209 million annually going to education once the pari-mutuels have the maximum number of 1,500 machines allowed.
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