States hoping to cash in on casino gambling playing a long shot

A number of U.S. states hope to balance their budgets by allowing gambling, then taxing it. But that's a gamble in its own right; in light of new industry reports, these states could be in for a big disappointment -- as the gaming industry has been hard hit by the recession.

States such as Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts are adding casinos and "racinos" (horse race tracks with slot machines, and, in some states, table games such as poker). These will join an existing 443 commercial casinos, 456 Native American ones, 44 racinos, 588 card rooms and 11,215 electronic gaming devices sites. Overall, in the U.S. about 833,000 slot machines operate today.