Dan Adkins: Slot Machine Bulldog

Dan Adkins is a bulldog when it comes to pushing through the opening of the Mardi Gras Racetrack and Gaming Center; he wants his slot machines up and running – yesterday. He wanted to beat Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino to getting his slot machines running first as he was the first to get the slot machine license, but was unsuccessful. On Thursday, Mardi Gras’ slot machines will start running, and Adkins cannot wait.

He runs his office just outside the entrance to the casino, and when it is completed, it will have almost 1,200 slot machines humming. “Nobody can get by me if I have a question that needs to be answered,” said Adkins. “This is where I sit. Every day. From 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock, I'm right here. I don't want to take a chance. I want to make sure everything's done the way I want it.”

Adkins will spend somewhere around $50 million to have the slot machines running at the former Hollywood Greyhound Track, and he has closely monitored every aspect from beginning to end. Adkins has been trying for seven years to get slot machines legalized in Florida – especially in Broward where he is located. He tried to get them into Miami-Dade County as well, but voters there disagreed with the plan and voted against legalizing the slot machines.

Adkins has been around gambling all of his life – first following his father to the tracks – and then at 16 when his father passed away he took a job with a company that sold betting equipment for racetracks to support his family. Years later, when he saw how much money the tribes were bringing in with their slot machines on the reservations, he decided he needed to get involved with bringing slot machines to the tracks to equal the odds.

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