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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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