Robert Allen's Alberta Downs in Lacombe is back under construction, and according to a report the owner is getting his ducks in a row for approval to simulcast

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“I’m kind of waiting for the federal government to give me the OK for simulcasting, which is the big issue with no slot machines,” Allen was quoted as saying in an article by The Red Deer Advocate.

Allen had hoped to have 150 slot machines up and running in Alberta Downs, but there has been a freeze on gaming expansion in the province pending a provincial gambling review.

“Nothing has changed as far as the VLT and slot licence applications,” Christine Wronko, a spokeswomen for the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission was quoted as saying. “The assessment into Alberta’s gaming industry continues.”

Allen is hoping to have all construction finished by May 8, 2010 when racing is scheduled to return.

Click here to the read the Red Deer Advocate article in its entirety.

(With files from Red Deer Advocate)