Michele McNeil, for the Indianapolis Star, has an article entitled Lobbying draws scrutiny in which she reports on potential conflicts arising out of Centaur Inc.’s financial contributions for the benefit of Sen. Drozda and Rep. Frizzell. Centaur Inc. is a gaming firm that owns part of the Hoosier Park horse track in Anderson. Frizzell heads a charity that was founded with a $160,000 donation from Centaur. Frizzell’s salary for his charity work last year was $68,000. Drozda’s marketing firm “D.C. Consulting” was hired in January by Centaur’s Colorado subsidiary to promote its interests. Drozda was hired by Centaur during a golf outing. This wouldn’t have been much of a concern had Drozda been hired before became a Senator. But, it was only after he came into the legislature that Centaur showed an interest.
This paragraph in the article interested me:
Both lawmakers say they oppose expanding gambling, at least beyond existing horse tracks and riverboats, and said their relationship with Centaur is not influencing their vote on the controversial issue.
Please note that preventing additional competition helps Centaur, Inc. by maintaining the value of the Hoosier Park horse track.
[…] HB 1835 – Gambling By Doug House Bill 1835 is one of the more significant bills that passed this year. It allows the two horse racing tracks to install up to 2,000 slot machines at each facility. The tracks are Indiana Downs in Shelbyville and Hoosier Park in Anderson. (Just an aside, I recalled that Centaur Inc. was involved with Hoosier Park and recalled an article a couple years back about the company’s cozy lobbying relationships with Sen. Drozda and Rep. Frizzell. Both of them voted against this bill.) […]