Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Churchill Downs recently held a job fair and they're looking to hire 200 employees to operate its new casino facility in Louisville called Derby City Gaming. It'll feature 900 slot machines. Churchill calls them historical racing machines but anti-casino advocates call them plain old slots. because in all respects besides a 2-3 second video screen of a previously run horse race, the machine looks like a typical slot. The problem is that it's questionable if the games are even legal, which is what the courts are trying to figure out right now. If this is the case, Churchill Down's announcement of new jobs and $65 million casino development will be a case of getting the cart before the horse.