New casino plans put on hold.Expansion plans of two Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County gaming companies suffered what could be a significant setback setback In architecture, a steplike recession in the profile of a high-rise building. Usually dictated by building codes to allow sunlight to reach streets and lower floors, the building must take another step back from the street for every specified added height interval. earlier this month when Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that signed into law a three-year moratorium A suspension of activity or an authorized period of delay or waiting. A moratorium is sometimes agreed upon by the interested parties, or it may be authorized or imposed by operation of law. on card club referendums. The ban goes into effect on Jan. 1, 1996, and will effectively halt most new card clubs until 1999. Inglewood-based Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
Hollywood Park's plan to build a card club in Compton will not be affected by the ban because it already has won a public referendum referendum, referral of proposed laws or constitutional amendments to the electorate for final approval. This direct form of legislation, along with the initiative, was known in Greece and other early democracies. , but the company's proposed casino in Pomona and Santa Anita's planned club in Irwindale could be in jeopardy jeopardy, in law, condition of a person charged with a crime and thus in danger of punishment. At common law a defendant could be exposed to jeopardy for the same offense only once; exposing a person twice is known as double jeopardy. because of the moratorium. In addition to the ban, the new law also prohibits expansion of existing clubs for the same three-year period. Along with the ban, the new law allows Hollywood Park to manage its one-year-old Hollywood Park (card) Casino on the grounds of its Inglewood complex. Hollywood Park had been trying to have state law changed for at least two years to allow it to manage, as well as own, the club. Under the old regulations, the company, even though it owned the facility, was not allowed to operate the club. Since it opened, Pacific Casino Management Inc., a separate Los Angeles company formed specifically to operate the facility, has managed the club. R.D. Hubbard, chairman of Hollywood Park, has tried to change the law in order to retain more control of his existing and planned California card clubs. Management gains "This is an important event for us," said G. Michael Finnigan, chief financial officer and president of Hollywood Park. "We've been trying for some time to get the laws changed. This is a good thing for the company and will help us better manage the card club." He said Hollywood Park will immediately begin the process of taking over operation of the club, and one of the first visible signs of the change will be a more aggressive marketing program. By massaging the club, Hollywood Park will realize more direct revenue from the facility, said Finnigan. However, he could not quantify Quantify - A performance analysis tool from Pure Software. how much it could increase revenues by managing the club rather than having a outside operator. For the first six months of this year, Hollywood Park Casino generated revenue of $18.4 million out of total corporate revenue of $67.3 million. In addition to the card club, Hollywood Park owns, and operates, Hollywood Park Race Track, as well as horse racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with tracks in Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , Kan., and Phoenix. Hubbard has been trying to get the law changed since he announced plans for the card club more than two years ago. The company launched a lobbying campaign in Sacramento to get the law changed and to create a casino commission to oversee gambling in the state. Commission nears Finnigan said Wilson signing the legislation could be the first step in creation of a casino commission and further changes in gambling laws in the state. One gaming industry source speculated that if the commission is formed, the pending ban on public referendums for card clubs would likely be lifted. "The point of the legislation was to slow down the growth of the card clubs and possibly allow some time for the creation of the commission," said the source. The moratorium on card club construction could be a significant setback for Hollywood Park, which has been expanding rapidly and has plans to build at least three more casinos in the state. "I think what it does is add impetus Impetus is a stimulus or impulse, a moving force that sparks momentum. Impetus may also refer to:
Under the new law, there will be no public votes or referendums on card clubs for three years starting on Jan. 1. That means if voters in a community want a card club, they will have to approve the measure before the end of the year or face a three-year waiting period. Compton in the clear Voters, under state regulations, must approve construction of card clubs. Hollywood Park's plan to build a card club in Compton is not affected by the new law because voters have approved the facility and construction could start by the end of the year. However, the company's planned card clubs in Stockton and South San Francisco South San Francisco, city (1990 pop. 54,312), San Mateo co., W Calif.; inc. 1908. South San Francisco has several industrial parks; its manufactures include medical supplies and equipment, foods, paint, paper products, consumer goods, and clothing. are in jeopardy because voters in those communities have yet to approve the facilities. The Pomona club will be on the ballot in that community in November but, if it is not approved then, Hollywood Park faces a three-year waiting period for another vote. Brian Fleming, a spokesman for Santa Anita, said the same situation exists for that company with its planned card club in Irwindale. Voters there are scheduled to vote on the proposal in October. "We've been in the community now for two years. If we don't get the approval now ... well, we'll just have to wait and see," said Fleming. The company plans to build the 80,000-square-foot Irwindale Palace Casino on a 19-acre site in Irwindale. Santa Anita Cos. owns and operates the Santa Anita race track in Arcadia. |
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