Two news articles, appearing within a day of each other, deserve to be united—a marriage made in predatory gambling hell.
The Associated Press story, appearing on April 13, reveals that a long-standing investigation into the Mexican Zeta (Los Zetas) drug cartel’s money laundering and horse doping activities in New Mexico and other states was scheduled for a trial in an Austin federal court last Monday, April 15, 2013.
The second story, in the Albuquerque Journal on April 12, announced that the New Mexico Gaming Commission is looking at issuing, and four investor groups are interested in buying, the sixth racetrack license allowed under the tribal gaming compacts with the state of New Mexico.
The Zetas are, according to US government sources, the “…most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.” They are accused of beheading at least three rival drug lords, and a young woman, and murdering hundreds of other Mexicans, either involved in the drug wars or caught in the cross-fire.
According to Zeta informants, Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, a Zeta cartel leader, boasted that he had “fixed” the 2010 All American Futurity race in Ruidoso by bribing gatekeepers. The cartel owns a horse ranch outside of Ruidoso, and has also been accused of doping their horses to get better performance out of them. The New York Times ran two stories in the last few months indicating that New Mexico had the worse “track record” of catastrophic injuries and fatalities of race horses in the country, many caused by doping the horses. Does the racing commission really want to invite more of this corruption into the state with another racetrack license?
The four investor groups are looking at getting licenses for Tucumcari, Raton, Lordsburg, and Hobbs. The Hobbs group already owns a racino, and the speculation is that they would use the license to increase the number of slots from 750 to 1,500. Raton had another group that tried unsuccessfully to complete requirements to get a racino opened in 2010, and lost their license.
New Mexico racetracks had been lobbying the legislature in the early 1990’s, pleading to get subsidies to help protect a “dying industry.” The racetracks pleaded with the legislature in 1995, 1996 and 1997 to get slot machines, promising that if they had slot machines, they would not only survive, but prosper. They would no longer be showing up at the legislature asking to be subsidized. They would be able to have more frequent races, bigger purses, and would be able to provide more money for housing and health care for the ponies. We have seen how well that worked out.
This year the tracks came to the legislature with a request that the state allow tax-payer money to fund live horse races–to back to the legislature begging for more subsidies. Stop Predatory Gambling New Mexico worked with the legislature and helped to shoot the legislation down
The universal history of nearly all state government involvement with predatory gambling follows the formula:
- Prohibiting and Prosecuting—After Congress outlawed the Louisiana lottery in 1895, thirty-five states banned gambling in their constitutions. Other states used the statutory route.
- Tolerating—Unregulated Bingo and raffles appear unchallenged in many states.
- Regulating and Taxing—Lotteries, racetracks, and casinos become partners with the states.
- Subsidizing — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie bails out the Revel casino with $300 million of taxpayer money. Tracks around the country ask for slots and other subsidies.
This echoes Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man: Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
There is no good reason for the New Mexico Racing Commission to issue another racing license so that the state can continue and expand the scandal-ridden, horse-destroying, broken promise history of predatory gambling in New Mexico.