from Harness Tracks of America

Tucson, AZ — The bill to expand casinos in Delaware beyond the three currently at HTA members Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway and Delaware Park died last night — at least for the present — when the sponsor of the bill pulled it, lacking the 21 votes needed to pass.

The measure — House Bill 194 — will at best be delayed while Delaware lawmakers enjoy a two-week Easter break. The measure drew nine amendments in yesterday’s discussion, including some to kill it, and Rep. Greg Lavelle, a Republican sponsor, doomed the proposal when he said he was unhappy with it as amended by House majority leader Pete Schwartzkopf, a Democrat.

Schwartzkopf says he will regroup during the recess and return to do battle again.

Bobby Byrd, a former lawmaker and adviser to former governor Ruth Ann Minner, lobbying for Dover Downs, agreed, saying, “The way the General Assembly works, very seldom are bills ever dead. They get tabled. They get put in committee. They get postponed.”

Even if passed in the House after the recess, the bill faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.