Arlington Park says it needs slots to survive and bills to allow the machines are likely to resurface this legislative session in Springfield, but gambling experts and the experience of tracks elsewhere in the country say racing may improve and more money may be bet — just not on horses.

“The traditional argument that has been made is that racing needs to be put on a level playing field (with other forms of gambling,)” said William Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming in Nevada. “The only problem with that argument is, the last step never takes place. Racing continues to decline despite the fact that [tracks] are in much better financial shape.”

In trying to persuade lawmakers to expand gambling, Arlington Park officials argue that slots at the track would allow for larger  purses that would lure higher-quality horses, and that, in turn, would attract more people. Bringing in more money benefits the state, which collects taxes on what’s bet, and Arlington Heights and other nearby communities, which see a trickle-down effect from higher attendance, they say.

Thom Seraphin, a representative for Arlington Park, said there’s even more to consider — track officials have often talked about an entertainment complex and additional restaurants or music would happen if slots were allowed.

“People won’t come to the track unless they get a bang for their buck and have a good time, from racing to music and (slot) machines,” he said. “We’ve got to have it all.”

Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to allow 1,200 slot machines at Arlington Park. The last bill, which passed in the Senate but was not called for a vote in the House before the last session expired, was introduced by Sen. Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills), who plans on introducing a similar bill in the senate as well.

The Arlington Heights Village Board has not taken an official position on slots at the track, but opposed prior legislation because it did not allow board members to have enough of a say. Mayor Arlene Mulder has said she wants the track to remain viable and sees slots as a way to do it.

Pulling in larger crowds remains a problem for race tracks, Eadington said, adding that 13 states have approved gaming alongside racing.

“The demographic has been aging and declining in numbers for quite some time,” he  said.

Adding slots would attract different gamblers, Eadington said, since slot machines are instant gratification, while horse racing is more cerebral.

Penn National Race Course, now part of a larger Hollywood Casino in western Pennsylvania, has seen better purses, the amount a horse takes for winning, and therefore better competition, spokesman Fred Lipkin said.

“This is by far the best quality racing that we have been able to provide,” he said.

And yet, while revenue is up, horse racing is not more popular, he said, since the Pennsylvania legislature allowed slots at six racetracks in 2006, and later expanded it to include table games in 2010.

“Unfortunately, the wagering on those better purses on those better races has not followed that same incline,” Lipkin said, adding that he believes the beleaguered economy has hurt gambling.

“The industry has not been able to discover the elixir that is going to interest a younger generation in the sport of kings,” he said.

At these popularly-named racino facilities, the slots or table games typically generate 90 to 95 percent of the site’s revenue, with racing being a very small part of the picture, Eadington said.

“Slot machines at race tracks have done very little to reverse the trends of racing in terms of handle,” he said. “However, they do convert a race track into casino.”

Cannery Casino and Resorts, which owns The Meadows Racetrack and Casino outside Pittsburgh, has invested more than $500 million in the facility since the Pennsylvania legislature allowed slots, and has added about 700 jobs for a workforce of more than 1,000, said spokesman David La Torre. The company tore down antiquated grandstands and built a new facility, complete with table games, slots, restaurants and bowling.

Further complicating the situation for Arlington Park is the planned opening in July of a casino in nearby Des Plaines and other competition to the west from the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin.

The Meadowlands faces fierce competition with three casinos within an hour’s driving distance, La Torre said, adding that’s not all bad.

“It would have been worse to not have gaming at all,” he said.