Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear late Thursday finally pulled the plug on casino gambling legislation. After meeting with House Democratic leaders, Beshear said all agreed the bill doesn't have enough votes for passage. But the governor predicts the issue will resurface."With over 80% of the population in Kentucky wanting to vote on this issue, I don’t think that the issue is dead, except for this session. Obviously, we will see how things develop over the next year to see what might be possible at that time," Beshear said.The legislation's demise is a major setback for Beshear, who’s 2007 gubernatorial campaign centered on bringing casino gambling to Kentucky. Beshear says gaming could have generated 600-million dollars per year for the state, and "we’re now not going to have access to that kind of revenue."Officials at Churchill Downs, longtime proponents of legalized casinos, say they'll continue to push for expanded gaming legislationin future sessions.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.