PLAYERS INTERNATIONAL AGREES TO BUY BLUEGRASS DOWNS TRACK IN PADUCAH

PADUCAH, Ky. - Players International, Inc., headquartered in Calabasas, Calif., and operator of Players Riverboat Casino at Metropolis, Ill., has agreed to purchase Bluegrass Downs, a quarter-horse track that has taken on new value with the prospect of casino gambling in Kentucky.

The owners of the struggling race track accepted the $5.1 million offer of Players Tuesday night.

Another bidder for Bluegrass Downs was majority owner of Riverfront Associates in Mount Vernon, Ill., W. Russell W. Withers, a broadcasting executive and native of Cape Girardeau.

According to the Paducah Sun, Withers bid $5 million, including an immediate $300,000 escrow deposit that would go toward the purchase price.

Former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll, a Frankfort attorney representing the track, said because of recent speculation about legalizing casino gambling at Kentucky race tracks, the value of Bluegrass Downs "has nearly doubled in the past six to eight weeks."

Before the speculation began, there were no serious bidders, Carroll said.

Bluegrass Downs has previously operated quarter-horse races but also has permission to conduct thoroughbred races beginning Oct. 9 if it makes $250,000 worth of improvements by mid-September.

"We're going to make those improvements," said Doug Wise, vice president of sales for the Players firm. "We want to present live thoroughbred racing in October. We can also provide simulcasting."

Simulcasting, the telecast year-round of races from other tracks, and the ability to wager at the track, has been the key to the track's recent success.

Bluegrass Downs came out of bankruptcy proceedings last August and prospered for six months.

But the opening of the Players Riverboat Casino across the Ohio River in Metropolis, Ill., has devastated the Paducah track, driving the owners to sell.

Meanwhile, Gov. Brereton Jones has endorsed casino gambling at the state's racetracks as a way to respond to competition from riverboat casino gambling in neighboring states. The prospect of a land-based casino gambling in Kentucky attracted the interest of Players International.

The Kentucky legislature could take up the casino issue as early as 1994.

Players Chairman Edward J. Fishman said he does not want to compete against a casino operation at Bluegrass Downs if Kentucky does legalize casino gambling. Players Riverboat Casino at Merv Griffin's Landing is located six miles from Bluegrass Downs.

He said head-to-head competition would tear the market apart in Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois, but adds that operating a land-based casino in Kentucky would be a perfect addition to the riverboat casino at Metropolis.

"We can use the same marketing promotions and the same people to market it," said Wise.

Riverfront Associates was formed with Tennessee investors to purchase Bluegrass Downs. The group made a $5 million bid on the property.

Players International has 90 days to look into their latest investment before final papers area signed.