Even regulars at Wonderland have noticed the dramatic effect that the opening of Foxwoods has on the greyhound track.

"Casinos would shut this place down," says one 21-year-old Everett resident who has been going to Wonderland since he was 18. "Foxwoods is a lot better than here. It's a better environment."

"This place is gone, it is not what it used to be," says an elderly Boston resident. "People would rather go to the casino than watch dogs run."

For Wonderland, Suffolk Downs and other gambling arenas, that is their problem. Their one-dimensionality cannot compete with the multitude of glitzy events showcased nightly at a casino.

"With the casino, you have other forms of entertainment that you just don't have at the track," Ramsey says. "We have horse racing and that's about all."

"[It's the] atmosphere. If you come here, you get greyhound racing period. There you get blackjack, bingo, craps," Trieger says.

"And the casinos don't just have gambling, they have other forms of entertainment as well--singing, dancing and comedy," Trieger adds. "It's a mini-Vegas."

Track officials say that because of this, younger people, once prominent at local race tracks, have left and gone south.

"We see a lot of younger people going to casinos," Trieger says. "Our regulars our older people and so now we are trying to build up our younger crowd."

As one way to offset the financial losses that would be caused by another casino opening, a measure which would allow them to install slot machines is currently before the legislature, Trieger says.

The provision, which is part of the memorandum allowing the Wampanoag casino plan to go forward, would allot 400 slot machines to each of the state's four racetracks.

Track officials say the measure will help some, but that 400 slot machines are not enough in light of how much the they stand to lose when the new casino opens in New Bedford, less than two hours away.

"If the casino is on the horizon, Suffolk Downs needs more than 400 slot machines to compete with the New Bedford casino and the ones in Rhode Island," Ramsey says. "Four hundred slot machines are not enough to compete."

But it's better than nothing.

"We can stay competitive with the slot machines," says Joe Hartmann, assistant general manager and director of communications at Foxboro Park, another horse track. "We think it is a fair situation."

"The casinos are coming and we have to get something to survive," Trieger says. "If there is a casino and we get the slots, that will be a plus."