May 04, 2004 |
Slots Interests Stuck $4.1 Million
In Texas Political Slots Since 2000
Perry, Sharp, Strayhorn and Dewhurst Ran the Top Slots Pots
Slot-machine interests doggedly fed $4.1 million in coin into the slots of Texas PACs and politicians in the four years preceding Governor Rick Perry’s pending proposal to legalize slots to fund public education.
The two groups to whom the governor would grant a monopoly on Texas slots dominated these contributions. Texas racetrack owners contributed almost $3.1 million since 2000, led by investors in San Antonio’s Retama Park.
Two Indian tribes, the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta, gave $698,350 more. (The Kickapoo tribe—which opposes slots that would compete with its casino—gave $96,000 in the same period.)
| Pro-Slots Interests | Contributions |
| Tracks | $3,099,257 |
| Tribes | $698,350 |
| Horse & dog trades | $251,075 |
| Slot makers | $71,100 |
| TOTAL: | $4,119,782 |
| Recipient | Office Sought | Amount |
| Rick Perry | Governor | $572,175 |
| John Sharp | Lt. Governor | $358,505 |
| Carole K. Strayhorn | Comptroller | $349,513 |
| David Dewhurst | Lt. Governor | $246,925 |
| Greg Abbott | Attorney Gen'l | $130,100 |
| John Shields | Senate | $112,325 |
| Tony Sanchez | Governor | $108,150 |
| Republican Party of TX | PAC | $98,200 |
| Susan Combs | Agricult. Com. | $90,075 |
| Kirk P. Watson | Attorney Gen'l | $66,350 |
| David H. Cain | Senate | $61,200 |
| E. Jeffrey Wentworth | Senate | $57,875 |
| Elizabeth A. Jones | House | $51,250 |
| Tom Craddick | Speaker | $46,950 |
| Juan Hinojosa | Senate | $44,174 |
| Gonzalo Barrientos | Senate | $43,967 |
| John Cornyn | Attorney Gen'l | $42,350 |
| TX Democratic Party | PAC | $35,000 |
| Judith Zaffirini | Senate | $31,050 |
| Wholesale Beer Distrib. | PAC | $31,045 |
| Kenneth Armbrister | Senate | $30,150 |
| David E. Bernsen | Land Com. | $28,750 |
| Kip Averitt | Senate | $28,450 |
| TX Partnership PAC | PAC | $25,000 |
| John Whitmire | Senate | $25,000 |
| Rodney G. Ellis | Senate | $24,850 |
| Ron Wilson | House | $24,700 |
| Wallace Jefferson | Supreme Ct. | $22,475 |
| Leticia Van De Putte | Senate | $22,500 |
| Kyle Janek | Senate | $22,000 |
Racing animal interests contributed another $251,075, led by the Texas Quarter Horse Association. The top dog-group donor was the Texas Greyhound Association. Slot manufacturing interests gave $71,100, all of which came from Gordon Graves. Graves was chair and CEO of Austin’s Multimedia Games until 2003.
Slotted politicos
Governor Perry, who invoked slot legalization in calling the current special session, is the top recipient of slots money, collecting $572,175 since 2000. His GOP party took another $98,200.
Former and current Comptrollers John Sharp and Carole Keeton Strayhorn were the next-largest recipients, clearing well over $300,000 apiece. The comptroller is an ex-oficio member of the Texas Racing Commission, which regulates tracks.
Two other statewide officials with busy campaign slots are Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, who defeated Sharp in 2002, and Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Thanks to rich father-in-law B.J. “Red” McCombs, a Retama Park track investor, John Shields collected more slots-related money than any other legislative candidate. Senate slots-money recipient Jeff Wentworth narrowly defeated Shields in the 2002 Republican primary. San Antonio Rep. Elizabeth Ames Jones was the largest House recipient of slots money, surpassing even House Speaker Tom Craddick.
Follow the Racetrack Money
| Track Owner Group | Contributions |
| Retama Park | $1,717,228 |
| Gulf Greyhound | $478,323 |
| Corpus Greyhound | $302,826 |
| ‡Maxxam, Inc. | $290,623 |
| †LRP Group (Laredo) | $275,457 |
| *Austin Jockey Club | $17,750 |
| Manor Downs | $12,300 |
| *Saddle Brook Park | $4,200 |
| Lone Star Park | $550 |
| TOTAL: | $3,099,257 |
has applied to open a Laredo track.
† Has applied for a track license.
* Track licensed but not operating.
Track owners and donors
Investors own seven operating Texas tracks that stand to benefit from the governor’s slots proposal.1 The Texas Racing Commission also has licensed two tracks that have yet to open and is reviewing applications for two additional track licenses.
Retama Park investors account for $1.7 million in political contributions—far more than any other track. Retama’s top investor is San Antonio’s Joseph R. Straus family (13 percent). The late Joe Straus, Sr., began lobbying to legalize gambling in Texas in the 1930s, according to Sen. Wentworth’s 1995 Senate Resolution honoring the family.
Retama’s many other investors include Texas Lottery contractor GTECH (8 percent) and such major donors as auto dealer Red McCombs, developer George Hixon and Caterpillar machinery distributor and Spurs owner Peter Holt. Governor Perry appointed Holt to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission in 2003.
While religious groups are leading the moral crusade against slots in Texas, Retama lists an unspecified “St. David’s Episcopal Church” among its investors.
| Stakeholder | Location | Track (% Owned) [H=Horse; D=Dog] |
Location |
| E. Drew Alexander | Amarillo |
*Saddle Brook ParkH(93%) | Amarillo |
| Austin Racing Partners | Houston area |
*Austin Jockey ClubH(100%) | Austin |
| Paul W. Bryant, Jr. | Tuscaloosa, AL |
Gulf GreyhoundD | La Marque |
| Carr Family | Manor |
Manor DownsH (100%) | Manor |
| Hecht Family | Miami, FL |
Corpus GreyhoundD (49%) | Corpus |
| Straus Family | San Antonio |
Retama ParkH (13%) | San Antonio |
| LaMantia Family | Laredo area |
†LRP Group, LTDH(24%) | Laredo |
| Magna Entertainment | Canada |
Lone Star ParkH (100%) | Grand Prairie |
| Maxxam, Inc. | Houston |
Sam HoustonH (100%) | Houston |
| Maxxam, Inc. | Houston |
Valley Race ParkD (100%) | Harlingen |
| Maxxam, Inc. | Houston |
†Laredo Race ParkH (100%) | Laredo |
† Has applied for a track license.
Running dogs of capitalism
Registered lobbyists are the top donors invested in two of the state’s three dog tracks. The lobby firm of Robert and Gordon Johnson—which contributed $388,101—controls 5 percent of Gulf Greyhound Park south of Houston. The Johnsons have reported lobby contracts for their own track and for Retama.
A corporation controlled by Paul Bryant, Jr.—son of legendary University of Alabama football coach “Bear” Bryant—owns 48 percent of Gulf Greyhound.
Lobbyist Nick Kralj, who contributed $216,766, is affiliated with trusts that own 5 percent of Corpus Christi Greyhound Race Track. Kralj reported large contracts with the pro-slots Tigua tribe in previous years. Trial-lawyer partners Joe Longley and Philip Maxwell also are big donors who collectively own about four percent of Corpus’ dog track.
Miami’s Hecht family owns 49 percent of Corpus Christi Greyhound. The Hechts and son-in-law Fred Havenick got their 15 minutes of fame in the late 1990s, when their Wisconsin dog track was a big player in a campaign-money scandal involving Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Frank Erwin III, son of the late University of Texas System regent, owns another 17 percent of this dog track.
Maxing out
The 800-pound gorilla of Texas race tracks is Houston-based Maxxam, Inc., which contributed $290,623. Run by Charles Hurwitz, Maxxam owns 100 percent of the Sam Houston and Valley race parks. It also has an application pending to open a new horse track in Laredo. Texas law prohibits anyone who already owns 5 percent or more of two tracks from buying 5 percent or more of a third track. To comply, Maxxam’s application says it will sell an existing track if the new application is approved.
The LRP Group also has a pending application to put a horse track in the same Laredo market that Maxxam is targeting. LRP’s largest owner is the Rio Grande Valley’s LaMantia family (24 percent) through its Buena Suerte and Apuesta companies.2 The family has contributed $214,307 of its beer-distributor fortune to Texas PACs and politicians since 2000. LRP’s other top donors are the Paul Bryant clan (more than 14 percent) and Retama’s Joe Straus family (8 percent). Robert and Gordon Johnson own 4 percent of LRP.
Like Maxxam, the Straus family appears to be skating close to the state law that bars a single owner from controlling 5 percent of more than two tracks. The Straus clan controls 13 percent of Retama, 4 percent of Gulf Greyhound and 8 percent of LRP. Racing Commission sources say that the Texas ownership law does not specify if different family members constitute a single “owner;” this issue has not been tested.
Whenever two applicants apply to open tracks in the same market, their applications go before an administrative law judge who can approve both tracks. Since both pending applications involve investors in existing tracks, the Racing Commission is unlikely to deem either applicant unqualified.
Canadian mounties
Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie is fully owned by Canada’s Magna Entertainment Corp. (MEC). As foreigners, MEC’s top executives—like many of its investors—cannot contribute to Texas politicians.
Lobby Watch’s April 28, 2004 edition overlooked up to $250,000 that MEC is paying to five lobbyists at Austin’s Graydon Group. Lobbyists Galt Graydon, Jay Brown, Machree Garrett Gibson, Jay Propes and Shannon Lea Swan each reported MEC contracts worth up to $50,000.
MEC spent a fortune to buy the home of the prestigious Preakness horserace in 2002. When Maryland lawmakers killed a bill last month to legalize slots at Maryland tracks such as Pimlico, it spawned persistent rumors that MEC might move the Preakness to Lone Star Park if Texas legalizes slots.
With relatively few contributions to their name, the Frances Carr Tapp family owns 100 percent of Texas’ final operating track: Manor Downs outside Austin. Carr family members also appear to own 12 percent of Retama. Similarly, Texas’ two licensed but non-operating tracks, Austin Jockey Club and Saddle Brook Park, have yet to generate major contributions.
Austin Jockey’s three equal-share owners are: Retama CEO Bryan Brown, as well as Houston-area horsemen Joseph Archer and C. Berry Madden. Saddle Brook President E. Drew Alexander owns the vast majority of his track.
Donor Group or Family |
City |
Amount | Slots Interest |
| Tigua Tribe | El Paso |
$610,200 |
Tribe |
| B.J. 'Red' McCombs | San Antono |
$546,816 |
Retama |
| Robert & Gordon Johnson | Austin |
$388,101 |
Gulf Greyhound |
| George C. Hixon | San Antonio |
$319,250 |
Retama |
| Peter Holt | San Antonio |
$252,604 |
Retama |
| Nicholas Kralj | Austin |
$216,766 |
Corpus Greyhound |
| Alan W. Dreeben | Schertz |
$198,473 |
Retama |
| MAXXAM Inc. PAC | Houston |
$197,500 |
Maxxam |
| Joe V. LaMantia | McAllen |
$107,753 |
LRP Group |
| TX Quarter Horse Assoc. | Dallas |
$102,725 |
Horse trade |
| Alabama-Coushatta Tribe | Livingston |
$88,150 | Tribe |
| TX Horsepower PAC | Austin |
$78,600 | Horse trade |
| Gordon T. Graves | Austin |
$71,100 | Slots makers |
| Charles E. Hurwitz | Houston |
$67,200 | Maxxam |
| Allen J. Becker | Houston |
$62,100 | Retama |
| TX Greyhound Assoc. PAC | Lorena |
$42,700 | Dog trade |
| Greg LaMantia | McAllen |
$41,250 | LRP Group |
| Steve LaMantia | Laredo |
$33,254 | LRP Group |
| Charles W. Graham | Elgin |
$32,022 | Gulf Greyhound |
| Longley & Maxwell LLP | Austin |
$31,000 | Corpus Greyhound |
| J.E. & Marilyn Helzer | Arlington |
$30,100 | LRP Group |
| Meredith Mallory, Jr. | San Antonio |
$28,575 | Retama |
| Joan N. Kelleher | San Antonio |
$25,850 | Retama |
| John W. Lyons, Jr. | Texas City |
$25,000 | Gulf Greyhound |
| Joe R. Straus, , Jr. | San Antonio |
$24,082 | Retama |
| Gulf Greyhound Partners PAC | LaMarque |
$22,850 | Gulf Greyhound |
| Anthony LaMantia | Edinburg |
$22,300 | LRP Group |
| Ronald L. Toms | Blanco |
$20,000 | Retama |
| Lukin T Gilliland, Jr. | San Antonio |
$19,407 | Retama |
| Scott Petty, Jr. | San Antonio |
$18,750 | Retama |
| Ann & Bob Coleman | San Antonio |
$18,713 | Retama |
| Artur Preston | Woodlands |
$18,250 | Retama |
| Ronald J. Herrmann | San Antonio |
$16,000 | Retama |
| Tommy J. Azopardi | Wimberley |
$15,750 | Horse trade |
| Corpus Greyhound Racing Assoc. | Corpus Christi |
$15,500 | Corpus Greyhound |
| Joseph F. Archer | Houston |
$14,500 | Austin Jockey Club |
| Ruskin C. Norman | San Antonio |
$13,800 | Retama |
| J. Kent Friedman | Houston |
$12,223 | Maxxam |
| Irving Greenblum | Laredo |
$11,250 | Retama |
| Curtis C. Gunn | San Antonio |
$10,500 | Retama |
| Fred W. Heldenfels, IV | Corpus Christi |
$10,500 | Corpus Greyhound |
1 The Gillespie Co. Fair operates a “Class-3” racetrack that could not have slots under the governor’s proposal.
2 Spanish terms for “Good Luck” and “Bet.”
