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2/22/2008 3:32 AM

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By Barbara S. Miller

Staff writer

bmiller@observer-reporter.com

Officials of municipalities and agencies who thought they lost out on a chance to garner a chunk of slot-machine revenue from The Meadows Racetrack and Casino may revive their hopes due to a revised estimate of how much money may be available.

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Revenue calculated through March 31 was expected to be about $8 million, and Washington County commissioners on Wednesday recommended 26 projects pegged to that figure for obtaining what is known as a local share of gambling revenues from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

But the estimate may be closer to $12 million, said Kevin Ortiz, DCED spokesman, on Thursday.

"I wouldn't characterize that as an error," Ortiz said. "That figure just didn't include the gross terminal revenue. Who left it out? I don't know.

"The 12 million figure is a projection. It is just an estimate, and that final number, once projects are approved, could be different. It could be less than $12 million. These are just estimates. We'll have a better idea of what's available after the first quarter."

Armed with that information, the county could either raise amounts earmarked for some or all of the 26 projects on the list, or include others that just missed the cut.

"I think we'll probably want to go with the larger number," said Washington County Commission Chairman Larry Maggi on Thursday. "I think we'd be crazy not to. We're going to more than likely put this back to the economic development roundtable. They do have second-tier projects they ranked."

William McGowen, executive director of the Washington County Redevelopment Authority, the agency that will actually submit the applications to the DCED, hoped that it might gain more time if additional paperwork or online applications need to be prepared.

But the March 28 deadline for local share grant applications to be submitted to the state is a firm one, Ortiz said.

"We'll do whatever is required," McGowen said.

Although the timetable DCED presented had the agency making its announcement of grant recipients in June, Ortiz said no date had been set, and it could, in fact, occur in July.

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