It has been reported that last week Delaware Governor Jack Markell asked sponsors of a bill which would see more casinos in the state to hold the bill until 2011
. At best, the news will result in a delay to the proposed Del Pointe racino proposed in Millsboro.
“It’s more than just the casino down there,” Representative Pete Schwartzkopf, one of the bill's sponsors, was quoted as saying in an article by capegazette.com. “It’s a $5 million economic development package in the middle of a recession. This has always been about the people who need jobs.”
The article cites Schwartzkopf as saying that the state’s three established casino (Harrington Raceway, Dover Downs, Delaware Park) have hired lobbyists to oppose the bill in Dover, arguing the extra competition would force them to cut staff.
The report also quotes Schwartzkopf as having some strong words about the positions of the existing tracks. “They care about nothing but themselves,” he was quoted as saying. “They’re protecting their fiefdom. Some of them have valid reasons – I don’t expect a legislator with a casino in their district to support this. But some have fallen hook, line and sinker into this idea that all we’re going do is run somebody out of the business.”
Del Pointe developer Preston Schell is also quoted in the article. He says that he is not surprised about the position of the existing racinos, but that he's "going to be here for probably the next 50 years” and that he will “wait it out.”
(With files from capegazette.com)