Beshear pronounces casino bill dead

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A beleaguered proposal to legalize casinos in Kentucky will not pass in the current legislative session, Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday.

“For this session, it is dead,” Beshear told reporters at an impromptu press conference outside his Capitol office.

The Democratic governor had pushed for a constitutional amendment to legalize casinos. He said allowing casinos to open, then taxing them, could have generated up to $600 million a year in much needed state revenue.

Although Kentucky has a long tradition of wagering at horse tracks, the state constitution specifically forbids casinos.

If lawmakers had agreed to amend the constitution to allow casinos, voters would have had a chance to ratify or reject the proposal in a ballot referendum.

Beshear made the announcement after a brief meeting with leading Democratic lawmakers late Thursday.