“This is an amendment that would allow racetrack licensing in Jefferson County,” said Rep. A permitted casino was also added to a location where the Texas Racing Association “has issued or is considering issuing a racetrack license.” It was also updated to allow the McAllen area casino to alternatively be in the Brownsville-Harlingen area. The proposal was amended to add a casino in the Austin-area and remove the open bid casino at a location to be determined.
The casino at an unspecified site would have to be picked through an open bid, located at least 100 miles away the cities where the other casinos are located and in a county that approved casinos in Texas. When it went to the floor for debate on Wednesday, the bill allowed for eight destination resort style casinos: Two in the Houston area, two in Dallas-Fort Worth, one each in the San Antonio, McAllen and Corpus Christi areas and one at an unspecified location. We’re not even talking about slot machines in my restaurant.”’ “We’re not talking about slot machines in 7-Elevens or a slot on every corner. “We’re not just talking about just any kind of casino,” Geren said.
