DOVER, Del. - Buoyed by the election of pro-slots governors in Maryland and Pennsylvania, casino company executives met with horse racing interests yesterday to talk legislative strategies for bringing slots to racetracks in those and other states.

"It's not a matter of if it's going to happen, but when," said Don Snyder, president of Boyd Gaming, a major gambling company that owns the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas and several others around the country, including the Delta Downs racetrack casino in Vinton, La.

Snyder was among several casino executives to address about 300 people who came to what was billed as the first national conference on bringing slot machines to horse tracks, creating a combination racetrack and casino.

Racino 2002, held at the Dover Downs Hotel and Conference Center, was sponsored by Global Gaming Business Magazine, the official publication of the American Gaming Association, the casino industry's lobbying arm.

Co-sponsors included slot machine manufacturers, an investment banking firm and other casino vendors.

Those attending got advice on the best arguments to use in promoting casino gambling in their states and were coached on how to counter arguments of anti-gambling activists who contend that the social costs of legalized gambling are too high for it to be allowed.

Kevin Considine, an attorney and former Massachusetts legislator, said arguing that slots are needed to save horse racing doesn't work well with the public or legislators. Instead, he said, the focus should be on the revenue that slots can produce for a state.

"As long as we were proposing the machines to benefit the racing industry, we were getting a cold shoulder," Considine said. He said Massachusetts is primed to bring in casino gambling because the state faces serious budget shortfalls and just elected a Republican governor who has pledged not to raise taxes.

Lou D'Allesandro, the Democratic leader of the New Hampshire Senate, talked about his attempt to bring slots to three dog tracks and a horse track in that state. He said religious leaders and other "do-gooders" have proved to be formidable opponents.

New Hampshire, like many states, faces a budget shortfall, D'Allesandro said, and that increases the chance that slots at racetracks will be approved.

"People do not want new taxes. People do want certain services," he said. "Things seem to be moving in our direction."

Participants were clearly pleased by the elections Tuesday of Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in Maryland and Democrat Ed Rendell in Pennsylvania because both are strong slots proponents. Ehrlich has said that putting slots at four horse tracks in Maryland could generate $800 million a year in revenue for the state.