PITTSBURGH -- A lawmaker wants to ask voters whether slot machines should become the latest way to separate gamblers from their money at four racetracks, including one just outside the city.

State Rep. Tom Petrone, a Democrat from the West End, said that a bill will be introduced in the fall to authorize a vote on the issue. A meeting to discuss the issue was held Wednesday at the Meadow Lands, about 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh in Houston, Washington County.

"We've heard from those people who go to Atlantic City and say they want to stay at home, 'We want to spend our dollars here and help the people here,'" Petrone said Wednesday.

Ladbrokes sold the Meadows to Santa Monica, Calif.-based Magna Entertainment Corp. earlier this year. Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association spokesman Tom Kauffman said that the sale was prompted by a 20 percent drop in business.

Petrone thinks that a "yes" vote would help Pittsburgh compete with West Virginia locations that already have slot machines, such as Wheeling Downs in Wheeling and Mountaineer Track and Gaming Resort in Chester.

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"It's pretty obvious our racetracks are hurting and this will help them," Petrone said when he announced his proposal last month. "Without slot machines, they're not generating the dollars they need to keep the (horse racing) purses at the level they need to attract top-flight horses."

"We certainly would favor an opportunity to have slots at the race tracks," Kauffman said.

Petrone said that he does not know how much money slot machines would pump into commonwealth coffers, but will present his findings along with the bill in the fall. Under the proposal, some of the profits would help Pennsylvania's PACE prescription drug plan for seniors.

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Backers want the slot machine bill presented on a county-by-county basis, but Gov. Tom Ridge has said that he will oppose any gambling legalization proposals unless they are presented uniformly across the comonwealth. Members of the local grassroots coalition No Dice plan to oppose the bill.

"To suggest introducing slot machines will solve the problems of the racing industry is too simplistic," said Evan Stoddard, president of No Dice.

"The social costs far outweigh any benefits that come in the form of tax revenue, and when people who understand this look at the facts, most people see it's all about special interests. It's not about the public welfare of Pennsylvania."

A commonwealth-wide gambling referendum in 1999 was rejected by the Senate. The bill included proposals for riverboat gambling, casinos and legalized video poker in taverns.

"We cannot allow any other type of gambling (other than slot machines) to be a part of this measure, or it will fail," Petrone said.

The Meadows would be the only western Pennsylvania track affected by the bill. Other commonwealth tracks are Penn National, near Grantville, Dauphin County; The Downs at Pocono, near Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County; and Philadelphia Park in Bensalem County.

Petrone's bill would not allow slot machines in 20 off-track betting parlors that are run by the parent companies of the four racetracks.

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