Ky House Leaders Count Votes for Casino Gambling Bill

From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeigh The clock is ticking on casino gambling legislation in the Kentucky General Assembly, and the scramble is on to find enough votes to move the constitutional amendment out of the House.Governor Beshear believes there are at least 50 House members who would vote for the casino gambling amendment that emerged from committee last week. The bill needs 60 floor votes and Beshear says he and House leaders are working hard to find them."We’re talking to individual legislators every day and continue to do that and continue to try to persuade folks that may be on the fence that they need to vote for this and get it on the ballot."House Majority Whip Rob Wilkey, who counts votes, believes the amendment has more than 50 votes, but agrees there’s still much work to do before the bill can be called for a vote. Speaker Jody Richards says the measure could be in real trouble if it hasn’t received a vote by the end of next week. Only 21 days remain in the 2008 session.