Governor Tom Vilsack’s offering to help round up votes in the Senate for a gambling bill that allows the addition of table games at Iowa race tracks but forbids the development of new casinos. Vilsack has told republican legislative leaders he wants something in return. Vilsack wants “stronger linkage” between a gambling debate and his request that legislators find a permanent source of financing for the Iowa Values Fund, the new state economic development program. Vilsack also seeks additional money for the “Vision Iowa” program which hands out grants for community improvement projects.
