Aurora, Colorado City Councilman Bob Broom recently said he wants the council to pass a resolution opposing a proposed casino at Arapahoe Park racetrack, which would become a reality if Amendment 68 is passed in November. The amendment would authorize limited-stakes gaming at horse racetracks in Arapahoe, Mesa and Pueblo counties. Currently Arapahoe Park in unincorporated Arapahoe County is the only horse track in operation in those counties.
Broom requested a review of the costs associated with road improvements around the proposed casino, which was estimated to be $63 million. The city of Aurora and Arapahoe County would share those costs, he said, but would receive no revenue from gaming taxes. “Aurora gets nothing out of it, but we’re going to have to deal with the traffic and all the public safety issues,” Broom said.
Although the casino would not be built in Aurora, the city likely would be responsible for calls for service to the casino. “We’ll have to run on all the heart attacks and everything else that happens at the casino. Older people and heavy smokers go to casinos, and there would be a lot of demands on public safety,” Broom said.
Amendment 68 supporters said an Arapahoe Park casino with up to 2,500 slots and 65 table games it would raise more than $100 million annually for K-12 education and charter schools statewide by charging casinos a 34 percent tax on gambling proceeds.
Arapahoe County Commissioners Chairperson Nancy Doty said the board has not yet declared where it stands on Amendment 68. Speaking for herself, Doty said, “I just don’t see the benefit for Arapahoe County. There’s nothing in the legislation that assigns revenue to Arapahoe County.”
