Dear Racing Commission Members,

I want to share my concerns with the proposed racing slot machines in Virginia.  As a Richmond resident who was not here for the referendum vote twenty years ago to allow off-track betting, I would vote for it today. In fact, at the time I was in California and worked in a shop in a casino complex. These machines are the same exact thing as the slot machines in that casino. I know many people who support horse racing but not casinos and never would vote for these machines if they really knew what they were. THey especially would not want so many of them. Even supporters of  Colonial Downs re-opening cannot support the number of horse racing slot machines. There is no reason to have 3,000 machines (double the number of machines in Kentucky) in Virginia, especially with no local input by its citizens or the local government, is a BAD idea. People will lose faith in government and democracy. People vote for one thing and then all the sudden they get another. There must be local input and approval to ensure that these machines are not placed near schools and more importantly--and OTB’s should not be placed in areas that target economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Please do the right thing and respect what people voted for.

Sincerely,

LaToya Scott

Richmond