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Iowa County Track Revenue to Plummet2 November 2001IOWA – Nov. 2, 2001 –As reported by the Des Moines Register: "Polk County will collect just a fraction of the $28 million it is scheduled to get next year under a contract with Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, track operators said. "Bob Farinella, president of the Racing Association of Central Iowa, the nonprofit group that holds the facility's gambling license, blamed higher salaries, falling attendance and an escalating state tax for the shortfall. "…Polk County, which owns the track, has collected an average of $15 million a year in casino profits, plus $12 million in rent annually over the past four years. "Farinella said the racing association will be able to make its 2002 rent payments, but might steer as little as $3 million in profits to Polk County, rather than the $16 million spelled out in the contract. "…County budget officials have tentatively committed about $15 million in expected track revenue in the 2003 budget year, which begins next July. "…Farinella said the county is asking too much of a track whose profit-making ability has diminished. Prairie Meadows' gambling revenue fell by $14.3 million between 1999 and 2000, while expenses increased by $4 million, according to audit reports…" |