SIMPSON COUNTY, Ky. (WBKO) – On Thursday, the Kentucky House of representatives passed Senate Bill 120, a bill that protects the use of wagering on historical racing machines.
These types of machines are found at The Mint Gaming Hall in Simpson County.
“They started with just a few hundred, it was very small at Kentucky downs approximately 10 years ago,” John Wholihan, the Marketing Director of Mint Gaming Hall, said. “Mint Game Hall was just kind of a rebranded to represent the latest expansion, which started at September first.”
Wholihan said leading up to the passage of the bill, gaming hall officials spent a lot of time educating lawmakers and the public on how the racing machines work, advocating for their use.
“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know what we do,” Wholihan said. “It was a lot of hard work, and part of it is just because of the amount of communication and information, education that you have to give to people and not just to state senators and representatives, but all the people around them.”
There are several benefits for allowing the use of these slot-like machines in Kentucky. Not only are they taxable and provide revenue to the state, but in the bigger picture, they create jobs for people in the area.
“Vendors are a group that really benefit with us being around, and even though we’re, you know, kind of at that little South corner, the bottom part of Simpson County, the fact is it’s multiple counties, even on the Tennessee side, they benefit from us because we’re neighbors,” Wholihan said.
Now that there is a sense of security after the passing of Senate Bill 120, officials with The Mint Gaming Hall said their next step is to make plans to expand in the future.
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