HHR machines ruled illegal by the court
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – The city of Slidell scored another victory in the fight to keep Historical Horse Racing (HHR) slot machines out of the community when the Louisiana Supreme Court voted 9-0 in their favor, affirming the fact a 2021 state law that approved the games without a vote of the people is illegal.
Slidell attorney Tom Thornhill represented the city at the Supreme Court hearing, also with Mayor Bill Borchert and City Attorney Thomas Schneidau watching the proceedings.
Even though it was the second defeat in court for Churchill Downs in its attempt to find the state law legal and therefore bring the machines to Slidell at an Off Track Betting (OTB) parlor opened here, Thornhill said you can never be sure the gaming industry will give up on anything that has a chance to bring more money their way.
“It’s pretty clear they don’t give up easily, and it’s because there is a lot of money to be had in the gaming industry,” he said. “Even though Slidell and St. Tammany have rejected gaming here several times, don’t think it is ever over when you see what the industry will do to try and find new ways to add to gaming.”
Thornhill said he has heard a rumor that the HHR machines, which Churchill Downs attorneys claim are not actually slot machines, may resurface next spring in the Louisiana Legislature where he is hearing that a gaming friendly lawmaker might propose a bill that would authorize another statewide vote only for those machines.
Slidell (St. Tammany Parish) joined the lawsuit against the HHR machines after four other parishes, including Lafourche, Lafayette, Jefferson and Baton Rouge, filed the same litigation following efforts to bring the machines into their communities.
But Thornhill said the judges from the Supreme Court spoke very strongly about the state law which says no form of gaming can come into any Louisiana parish without approval from a public vote.
“The Justices were very vocal about the rights of citizens to vote before any expansion of gaming. Expectations are that the excellent opinion of Justice (Will) Crain, elected by our area of the state, will not be revisited in a re-hearing,” Thornhill said, noting Crain’s initial ruling against the law. “I believe that even if Churchill Downs files another motion for re-hearing it will be denied soon without oral argument.”
Even if a state bill is filed to seek a vote in all parishes for Historical Horse Racing machines, Thornhill said he would expect St. Tammany lawmakers to do their best to exclude our parish from the vote, especially after the overwhelming 63 percent vote against a proposed $350 million casino tried to come here in 2021.
After the Off Track Betting parlor was opened in Slidell in a business strip mall at the corner of I-10 and Gause Boulevard, city officials discovered the attempt to bring in the HHR machines when the company filed for a permit. Incredibly, the permit actually showed drawings for renovations to the former restaurant with notes of “slot machines” in certain areas of the structure.
“When we saw they had written ‘slot machines’ on those drawings it was clear they were trying an end-around on the city to get the machines in here,” said Borchert. “The city denied the initial permit until it was changed, but then we joined the lawsuit to get a court ruling to ensure the machines aren’t coming here.
“Our community voted out gaming and the state Legislature passed an unconstitutional law that tried to allow the machines without a vote of the people. They tried to force it on us, so I’m very excited to see such a strong 9-0 court ruling in our favor,” he remarked.
The gambling industry has tried to get the HHR machines into state sites by claiming they are not a new form of gaming. Since the Louisiana Legislature approved horse race betting many years ago, the industry claimed the HHR machines should be approved since it was only an extension of horse racing.
However, one look at the machines makes it hard to believe they are not conventional slot machines. They are not only shaped like slot machines, they have reel windows that look like slot machines and are also made by slot machine manufacturers.
Thornhill and the other attorneys in the suit argued that the HHR machines are clearly slot machines, and therefore, have to be illegal unless the voters in a parish approve them.
“I was confident we would win,” the veteran Slidell attorney said. “It was a great collective effort from the five parishes all working together, but as I said, you can never be sure it’s over since there is too much money in gaming for these companies.”
Slidell is currently part of a lawsuit against Churchill Downs asking the courts to shut down the Gause Boulevard location since it violates the state law which says no OTB site can be within a mile of a church, school or residence. The Slidell location has all three inside of a mile away.