CASPER, Wyo. — On Tuesday, 307 Horse Racing made its case to the Natrona County Board of Commissioners, seeking a permit to add horse race betting machines at Poplar Wine and Spirits.
307 Horse Racing Vice President Kyle Ridgeway said he would like permitting for 75 machines, though he anticipates only 50 will initially be installed. He added that, should the permit be approved, the addition would not involve making changes to Vintage Fine Wine and Martini Bar or the attached liquor store.
“There’s a warehouse in the back of the facility where inventory has historically been stored,” Ridgeway said. “We want to remodel that for gaming while leaving Vintage and the liquor store operating as is.”
The machines operate on mathematical models based on historical horse races, Ridgeway said.
Commissioner Dave North asked if the increasing number of locations in Casper with machines has led to saturation, meaning that the number of machines has satisfied demand, but Ridgeway said he has not seen anything to indicate that.
“Recently, with other facilities either closing or not operating, the tax revenue has stayed the same or slightly gone up,” Ridgeway said. “What’s happening in terms of saturation in my opinion is the market is resolving that issue because there’s less operating machines in the community than when we first started.”
Commissioner Peter Nicolaysen raised concerns of safety, particularly as it pertains to parking in the area and the increased traffic that could be caused by the addition of the machines.
“One of my concerns is that we approve these things if we think they’re in the best interest of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the county,” Nicolaysen said. “I’m personally going to be cautious about where we do these things.”
Ridgeway replied that they have added signage around North Center Street directing people to parking. He also said that when he refers to things becoming “more busy,” he means increased revenue rather than an increase in actual traffic.
Ridgeway said he’d like to see the machines up and running in Poplar Wine and Spirits in the fall, though he added that he doesn’t have a clear idea of how long the process will take. After the county gives initial approval, there will still need to be approval from the Wyoming Gaming Commission.
The issue is not on the commissioners’ agenda for today’s meeting, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the county administration building, 200 N. Center St.
“There have been times where they’ve voted on it the same day [as the work session presentation],” Ridgeway said. “Other times, we’ve had three meetings to discuss things. So it varies.”
When approval is finalized, Ridgeway said 307 Horse Racing will then go to the City of Casper to have the business’s liquor license transferred over to them.
