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Pompano Park 'racino' transformation under way
Message was posted: 01:44 Jun 16th, 2006

User: Snake Eyes Rank: Casino Gold: 4404CG Contributor rating: 9600 Status: Offline

Gambling news from: http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/ Suburban Pompano Beach is getting a "racino" as its harness race track slowly morphs into a combination racetrack and casino. It could have been bigger. Some scaling back has been necessary because of the 50 percent state tax bite - plus license fees - on future gambling revenue, according to track officials. Now, plans are on hold for a 450-room, four-star hotel and a 250-room budget hotel on the Pompano Park property. In March, a development plan was announced for a 157,000-square-foot racino complex that is estimated to cost $140 million, said Tim Hinckly, president and COO of Pompano Park's owner, Isle of Capri Casinos (NASDAQ: ISLE). The structural steel goes up next week. The racino architect is Cope Linder, a Philadelphia-based firm that specializes in entertainment venues such as the Borgata Casino & Spa in Atlantic City. The contractor for the job is Yates Construction, which has done three casinos in Mississippi, plus the Borgata. The 223-acre Pompano property has plenty of room to grow, with just about 100 acres currently used by the track, clubhouse, parking, stables and ancillary buildings. The new racino complex will be a bit of upscale Las Vegas in South Florida, with action, light and sound. It will hold a gaming arena with 1,500 slot machines for 16-hour-a-day play, a multi-story feature bar with high-imagery audio and video, a high-tech sports bar, expanded simultaneous off-track betting facilities, an expanded poker parlor and four restaurants. Completion is targeted for late 2006 or early 2007. Isle of Capri hopes the racino is just the first step for Pompano Park to become a full-fledged casino someday, similar to its 15 other facilities in 13 separate gaming locations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Iowa and Missouri. While the Indian reservation-based casinos are already here, anti-gambling forces have done much to stymie further casino evolution. The anti-gambling coalition, led by Gov. Jeb Bush, did everything in its power to defeat the enabling constitutional amendment that was passed in 2004, followed by the Miami-Dade and Broward County local option elections in 2005. Various court challenges failed to stop the votes, but delayed the implementation process.