Posted: 10/29/04

New horse race betting machines in Texas raise concerns

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By Ferrell Foster

Texas Baptist Communications

GRAND PRAIRIE–Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie has introduced new horse race betting machines, and gambling foes have voiced concern.

The machines let gamblers bet on races at other tracks around the nation. That practice already is allowed via simulcasts at Lone Star Park, but the new machines allow bettors to sit at a slot-machine like device and choose from a simplified list of betting options.

“It is a very simplified wagering terminal,” said Jean Cook, public information officer for the Texas Racing Commission. “It is designed to give a person a few choices … instead of an intimidating number of choices.”

A race is featured every five minutes from some track in the country, she said.

That simplicity and speed causes concern for gambling opponents.

“The only real reason to invest in these types of machines is to solicit new gamblers and to make it faster,” said Suzii Paynter, director of public policy for the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. “One of the things we know about gambling is that addiction rates go up the faster you're able to place bets.”

The Racing Commission gave Lone Star Park permission to use the machines for a two-week period beginning Oct. 21. The timing coincides with the track hosting the prestigious Breeders' Cup thoroughbred race.

Track officials indicated the trial period would provide “a chance for them to showcase these machines” for race fans from around the world, Cook said.

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The machines, called Horse Wizards, currently are in use at only about five tracks in the world, she noted.

“They look like slot machines,” Paynter said. “They have the simulated sound of coins dropping and lights that flash at the top and the horses (on the display) spin around.”

But the distinction between simulation and the real thing matters, said Cook of the Texas Racing Commission.

“While it has some of the cosmetic features of a slot machine, these are not slot machines,” she said. “These are pari-mutuel wagering terminals. … A person is wagering on the outcome of a live horse race. Only the Legislature can authorize games of chance such as slot machines.”

Paynter fears such machines are close to becoming games of chance. “When you don't know what race is coming up next, then you can't be informed about who the horses are and who the jockeys are, so that moves it from being a game of skill where the information you have determines which horses you bet on.”

The terminals avoid the game-of-chance designation by providing three computerized “experts” to help bettors.

“Solid Sam is the most conservative of our handicappers,” a Horse Wizard brochure from Lone Star Park states. “The morning line odds are established by the track handicapper for all horses entered in each race based upon his review of the horses' past performances and the horses' ability to win the designated race.”

Paynter acknowledges that “right now they're operating within the law … because there is handicapping. … It's legal as far as we know.

“But they clearly are a step toward more of a game of chance and not a game of skill. … We don't have enough information about these machines, … but the trend is that they become more and more a game of chance.”

Another important distinction is whether terminal betting affects the odds on the different horses. Cook said the bets placed on Horse Wizards at Lone Star Park do affect the odds.

That is not the case with similar machines used in other states, the CLC's Paynter said.

Also, she said, it's important that live races are used. “What they're assuring us right now is that the race is happening at the same time you're watching it.”

Some states allow previously run races to be used with identifying marks obscured.

So, how does it work? Normally, racetrack patrons place their bets at a teller's window or via a self-service machine, Cook said. These provide a wide variety of options that can be intimidating to inexperienced bettors.

The Horse Wizards allow a person to either place a $2 bet for a horse to “show”–finish in the top three–or a $6, $15, $30 or $60 bet for a horse to “win, place or show”–win refers to first place, place to second and show to third.

Bettors purchase a Horse Wizard card in the Horse Wizard Lounge, a brochure from Lone Star Park states. The card is then inserted into a betting machine, which keeps a running total of the balance.

A race is featured every five minutes from some track in the country. All races are telecast live on the Horse Wizard machine, Cook said.

When the bettor is through, he or she takes the card to the Horse Wizard Lounge and receives the amount of money tallied from their bets, which may be more or less than their original purchase.

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Do you know where your tithe dollars are going?

If you were a faithful member of Bethel Institutional Missionary Baptist Church in Houston Texas, then they may have been going right into the pocket of your pastor and his wife…then to a Louisiana slot machine.

KHOU-11 news in Houston reports:

A Houston pastor and his wife are in the Harris County jail charged with bilking their former congregation out of more than $400,000 and using that money for gambling trips to Louisiana.

Charles Gilford, 58, and Adriane Gilford, 53, were indicted Wednesday by a Harris County grand jury and charged with aggregate theft and “misapplication of fiduciary property.”

Prosecutors allege the Gilfords used at least $430,000 in church funds to gamble at the Coushatta Casino near Lake Charles between 2004 and 2007. They were pastor and first lady of Bethel Institutional Missionary Baptist Church (BIMBC) on Selinsky Road in southeast Houston at the time.

“Over that three-year period of time as fiduciaries there, they were able to take that total of $430,000 from that little Baptist church,” said Amy McCauley with the white collar crimes section of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

At that little Baptist church, a fixture in this neighborhood for decades, the current leadership told us they didn’t want to comment on the case. The Gilford’s left BIMBC five years ago.

Not only did this pastor and his wife allegedly steal money from the church, but they are believed to have gambled it away too? Looks like one idiot move leads to another.

Of course, as we’ve seen in several high profile scandals in churches across the country, even when faced with damning evidence, congregants cannot wipe the smoke out of their eyes and see when they’ve been had. Unfortunately, some members of this church are no different. The article goes on to say:

Close friends say they have trouble believing the couple would steal from their congregation.

“And when I tell you impeccable people, outstanding people willing to help, I just, this is a little bit too much for me,” said friend Regina Davis when she learned about the arrests.

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“It doesn’t make sense,” added her son Freddie Davis. “As far as I know, they are really genuine people, both pastor Gilford and sister Gilford. They have been courteous and amazing over the years.”

But after poring over boxes and boxes of financial records, prosecutors convinced a grand jury to indict the pair on charges that carry anywhere from 5 years to life in prison.

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Ummmm of course they were “courteous and amazing” — the members were funding their gambling addiction. I know that no one wants to believe the worst about leaders in their church, but unfortunately you can’t put this kind of behavior past anyone. You also can’t be too shocked when it happens.