Last modified: Monday, July 23, 2007 11:52 PM EDT Talk of slots heating up in Plainville BY JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF PLAINVILLE - Out-of-state interests are teaming up with Mashpee Wampanoag Indians for a proposed casino in Middleboro and the Twin Rivers gambling center in Lincoln is drawing Massachusetts customers to Rhode Island. Now local interests are stepping up their attempts to keep some of the gambling revenue home at Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville. Plainridge and local politicians hosted Daniel O'Connell, secretary of housing and economic development, to make a pitch Monday for legalizing slot machines at the track. "Of our 17 investors, 16 were either born in Massachusetts or live here," said Gary Piontkowski, president of the horse track. "All we want is our fair shake." He said investors are willing to put $200 million into the track if slot machines are legalized, helping to boost the local economy. The people who want to invest and run the proposed Wampanoag casino in Middleboro are from out of state, he said. Furthermore, he said, Plainridge is only 20 miles from Twin Rivers. Massachusetts gamblers drive by his track to spend their money at Twin Rivers. "Rhode Island is taking our revenue and leaving us with the social problems," he told O'Connell. State Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, said Massachusetts has to decide if it wants to help the local horse racing industry and boost economic development in the area, or let money go elsewhere. "With everything Twin Rivers is doing, I think we should either step up or get out," he said. Twin Rivers - formerly Lincoln Downs - is a dog racing track that has undergone extensive renovations and expansion. It has added slot machines, restaurants and entertainment and is drawing a large share of its customers from Massachusetts. Brown said the priority should be in helping existing businesses like Plainridge, rather than out-of-state concerns. Expanded gambling at Plainridge would be an economic engine for the whole area while helping to support horse racing, which in turns supports farms and other businesses. State Rep. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, said the purpose of having O'Connell come to Plainridge is to show him how promising the area is for economic development. Ross said he is concerned that if the state approves the casino in Middleboro, it will not want more gambling in places like Plainridge. For his part, O'Connell said there is no substitute for actually visiting the track and the area. He said Gov. Deval Patrick has appointed him to head a study commission on legalized gambling and he will meet with the governor Thursday to discuss the issue. Patrick intends to make his decision by Labor Day, he said. If the the proposed casino in Middleboro is approved by the state, it will not preclude Plainridge or any other location from being approved for gambling, he said. Brown said if the casino is approved, the state would get no more than 25 percent of its slot machine revenue. If slot machines are allowed at Plainridge, the track would pay 55 percent of revenue in taxes, he said. Town officials in Plainville badly want the expanded gambling as a revenue source. Gambling is often opposed by public safety agencies because of the possibility of drawing more crime, but Police Chief Edward Merrick and former Fire Chief Ed Harrop were on the tour to endorse slot machines. "If past experience here is any indication, it will be nothing but a plus for the town," Merrick said. "They have been great neighbors." Harrop said the town already pays to have police and EMTs on site during racing. Town Administrator Joseph Fernandes said the town receives about $200,000 a year from the track in property taxes and $285,000 from its share of the racing revenues. The track and local officials pulled out every trick to win O'Connell over. After bringing him for a tour of the gambling facilities and the horse stables, he was allowed to ride in the pace car that led the horses into a race. Things did not go as planned, however, as a sulky broke a wheel and the horses had to be recalled for a restart.