Churchill CEO says co. doesn't share exec's view
Churchill Downs Inc.'s chief financial officer said Monday that the racetrack company would fare better in its efforts to pursue expanded gambling in Kentucky if Democrats were in charge of state government. "I don't think anything will happen, first of all, until there's a change in the gubernatorial situation," said Mike Miller, the racetrack company's executive vice president and CFO. "The best thing that could happen for us would be to have a totally Democratically controlled state, and I don't see much happening before then, to be honest with you. It's not impossible." Miller's comment came during a question-and-answer session at the Gaming Investment Forum in Las Vegas. Miller and Mike Anderson, Churchill's corporate finance vice president, addressed the forum. The forum is part of the American Gaming Association's annual Global Gaming Expo. Kentucky's governor's office and state Senate are led by Republicans. Bob Evans, the company's president and CEO, said Tuesday afternoon he was "kind of surprised by the remarks," adding that they were "certainly not my own personal point of view or the company's point of view, or the board of directors point of view." Evans said Miller was traveling and he hadn't had a chance to discuss the comments with him in person. "I assume it's his personal view because we didn't authorize that as a company position," Evans said.
Evans, who took over in August from longtime CEO Tom Meeker, said he has not met all of Kentucky's legislators yet -- but of those he has met, "some are probably for the idea and some of them are against it. I don't think it breaks down by party line necessarily."
Gov. Ernie Fletcher is in Japan. Fletcher spokeswoman Jodi Whitaker said the governor's position has not changed on the issue and declined to comment further. Fletcher has said he personally opposes expanded gambling but would not block the issue being submitted to Kentucky voters in a referendum.
State Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, said he wasn't offended by the comment.
It is not a "secret that gambling interests such as KEEP (the Kentucky Equine Education Project, of which Churchill is a member), organizations that want to expand gaming particularly at racetracks, have put tens of thousands of dollars into state legislative races in order to try to accomplish the takeover of the Kentucky state senate in particular for the Democrats," Williams said.
"He's just being more candid than other people," Williams said. "So I don't agree that's the route Kentucky ought to take, but I don't necessarily get mad at people that don't agree with me about it. You know, I mean it's just a different idea of what kind of Kentucky we want and what we think it would do to Kentucky to have expanded gaming."
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