"The Racino model is working in states like Iowa, New Mexico and Delaware," says Randy Sampson, chief executive officer of Canterbury Park. GVA Marquette Advisors examined the growing demand for increased entertainment options such as slot and video gaming in the metro area.

Based on the conclusions of their report, the proposed 3,000 slot machines at the Racino at Canterbury Park would:

• Generate $180 million in new state gaming tax revenues in the coming biennium, including a $100-million up-front fee from temporary gaming operations.
• Generate at least $200 million in future biennia when the Racino is fully operational.
• Create 1,300 new full- and part-time jobs from Racino operations, as well as the equivalent of 650 full-time jobs in the construction of the facility.
• Increase live racing purses by $18 million, including $3.6 million for the Minnesota Breeders' Fund.
• Produce more than $9 million per biennium in new taxes for local communities.

The Canterbury plan would pay the state an up-front licensing fee of $100 million, which is half of the fee proposed for the rival state-tribal casino plan. The Canterbury plan's projected of yield $103 million a year is $40 million a year less than the much-larger casino proposed by Pawlenty and the three tribes.