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Casino Proposed for Tennessee Fairgrounds

TENNESSEE – As reported by the Tennessee Commercial-Appeal: "Longtime Memphis horse racing proponent Richard 'Sonny' Bauman said Thursday he's proposing a $400 million horse track, casino and hotel on the Mid-South Fairgrounds.

"But his plan isn't getting out of the starting gate.

" 'We can't do a casino (legally in Tennessee),' said city Chief Financial Officer Robert Lipscomb, who oversees the fairgrounds re-use process. 'We're looking for something we can do right now.'

"…But after being told of Lipscomb's comments, Bauman said, 'I'd still like to get public opinion on it. The public might change his mind.'

"…Bauman's plan calls for state legislation that would allow a single casino in Tennessee, to be paired with the proposed Riverside Downs, the state's only horse track. He suggested that legislators statewide would support the plan because the state would receive vast tax revenues from the project.

"…Along with casino gambling being illegal in the state, a horse track also would face hurdles. The state Racing Commission was abolished in 1998, and without it a track couldn't operate, even though pari-mutuel horse racing was approved in Memphis by referendum in 1987…"

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