Vernon Downs One Step Closer To Adding Video Lottery Machines

VERNON - Vernon Downs is one step closer to adding video gambling machines. The horse track submitted a commitment letter to the state Lottery Division Monday expressing its intention to construct a 30,000-square-foot, free-standing building next to the Vernon Country Suites.


The building would house 1,000 video lottery terminals -- computerized coinless slot machines.


"The building would also have a nice area for simulcast and live horse wagering," said Mark Scalzo, marketing director for The Downs and its hotel.


The Downs is banking on the installation of VLTs to help return the track to profitability.


Scalzo said Vernon Downs has not yet come up with a price tag for the expansion project, all or most of which would be funded through $18 million that Las Vegas investor Shawn Scott loaned the track.


The VLT building would have a bar and food court. The expansion is expected to create 300 jobs for the region, and VLT gross revenue is projected to be $54 million a year, he said.


Together, the video gaming center and harness track are expected to draw a million visitors a year, Scalzo said.


Harness track officials hope to have the video gaming center completed by Nov. 1, Scalzo said.


"The lottery has to sign off first," he said. "The construction could have to be pushed back."


The state Lottery Division does not have a specific time-frame for approving the VLT plans submitted by harness tracks across the state, a spokeswoman said.

"In general, it's just working with the tracks to make sure (the plans) meet the specifications for what they need in terms of a building," lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman said.


The Lottery Division would retain ownership of the 1,000 VLTs Vernon Downs is to receive, Scalzo said.


The track would retain 29 percent of the VLTs' revenue, about two-thirds of which would go directly to Vernon Downs, Scalzo said. The rest would be split between the horsemen, breeders and others, he said.


Vernon Down is planning two more construction phases for the VLT project, Scalzo said.


"The building will be next to the hotel, but facing toward the grandstand structure of the race track," he said. "As we expand in Phases 2 and 3, we will eventually connect the building and the grandstand structure."


The track has lost millions in recent years and was denied its license for 2003 at a Racing and Wagering Board meeting in December because of a lack of compliance with state rules.


The racing board granted the track a license in April before the season started. The track also is planning to build a dinner theater and is hoping to work, rather than compete, with Turning Stone to make Oneida County an entertainment destination, Scalzo said.


"I think we have the attitude most properties in Atlantic City and Las Vegas would have and that's that competition is good," he said. "People will have their favorites and, at times, will travel back and forth because they can."