AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Gambling lobbyists are betting on legalized casinos coming to Texas in the upcoming legislative session.
Groups like the Texas Gaming Association are proposing 12 casinos statewide which they claim will bring in a billion dollars to the state providing thousands of jobs. Fighting amongst themselves may be the biggest hurdle that these groups face. State Representative John Smithee, says none of the organizations representing gambling in Texas can seem to come together to decide on one package for the state.
"You have this mixture of competition between the big out of state casino operators who want to do a resort type casino, you've got the horse track operators who want to put slot machine casinos at their tracks and a number of other groups that want to be able to do their own particular thing."
Smithee also talked about how he turned down campaign money from Oklahoma Indian Casinos. He asked why they sent him money, because he told them he doesn't support gambling in Texas. Their response? Neither do they.
"It's true, they do rely on Texas people coming across the border..this is a lucrative business, but there's more for the private companies than for the state."
A recent poll shows that 54 percent of Texans want casinos, but most lawmakers don't think it will happen.
"Can't say it won't, but knowing the people involved and what they stand for, it's unlikely that they have the numbers to put that together this time.
That poll was from our sister station, WFAA in Dallas, which tracked one thousand voters. Would you like to see gambling legalized in Texas?
