The assets, a big dog track with slot machines in Rhode Island and four tracks in Colorado, may be for sale because of a scandal in Rhode Island in which Wembley executives were indicted on bribery charges tied to a scheme to add slot machines.

Some gaming executives, who declined to be named, said this week that the scandal has significantly decreased the appeal of purchasing the Rhode Island track or other assets from London-based Wembley PLC.

But analysts say that view is a red herring and that major gaming companies are working behind the scenes to sniff out the possible purchase of the Lincoln Park track in Rhode Island and the less-valuable Colorado tracks, which don't have slots.

The appeal of the Rhode Island track, which is said to generate some of largest revenue per slot machine in the nation and already has the authority to add more than 700 slots for a total of 3,000, is unmistakable, analysts say.

Of large-cap casino companies, Harrah's Entertainment Inc. -- which has expressed interest in running racinos nationwide -- appears the most likely to bite, said Ray Cheesman, a bond analyst at Jefferies & Co.

Mid-cap companies that are focused on running smaller operations such as racinos -- including Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., the Dover Downs racetrack in nearby Delaware, Boyd Gaming Corp., Argosy Gaming Co., Ameristar Casinos Inc., Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. and Magna Entertainment Corp. -- also may be interested, he said.

The companies haven't talked publicly about their interest in the track and those that were contacted for comment declined to discuss specific deals.

Both large and small gaming companies could be interested in purchasing Lincoln Park if there is some assurance that the buyer would be indemnified from liability, CIBC World Markets bond analyst Jacques Cornet said.

"New opportunities (of Lincoln Park's size) are few and far between" in the gaming industry, Cornet said.

A simple asset sale of Lincoln Park would be possible without liability to a major gaming company, Cheesman said.

Similarly, he said, riverboat operator Ameristar Casinos purchased two Missouri casinos from Las Vegas locals' operator Station Casinos Inc. following Station's tangles with regulators in that state, he said. "It's not hard to buy (troubled) assets," he said.

Last week, Penn National Gaming Inc., which owns a racino in West Virginia as well as two racetracks without slots in Pennsylvania, became the first company to step forward by saying it was in discussions with Wembley to purchase all or some of the company's assets.

Penn National's potential acquisition of Wembley "would make sense" given Penn's experience owning and operating racinos, Merrill Lynch analyst David Anders said in a research note last week.

"Assuming a reasonable acquisition price, this could be a good opportunity for Penn," Lehman Brothers analyst Joyce Minor wrote last week in a separate research note.

A federal grand jury in September charged Wembley Chief Executive Nigel Potter and Dan Bucci, chief executive of the company's U.S. subsidiary, with 22 counts of fraud including charges of illegal payments to a law firm tied to former Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood to facilitate approval of additional slot machines at Lincoln Park.

A guilty verdict could strip Wembley of its state gaming license to operate slots at Lincoln Park, analysts say.

Wembley was dealt a second blow last month when Colorado voters overwhelmingly defeated a measure to add slot machines at the state's five pari-mutuel wagering racetracks. Analysts say the indictments played a role in the failure of the referendum in Colorado, where Wembley owns three dog tracks and one horse track and had spent millions of dollars supporting the slots at tracks measure.

Liz Benston covers gaming for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4077 or by e-mail at benston@lasvegassun.com.