Within the next two weeks, a racino bill is expected to surface in the Minnesota Legislature.

That bill, which would open casino gambling at the state’s two horse tracks, has bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition.

And it does not seem to have a great ally in Gov. Mark Dayton. 

Dayton pointed out at a news conference today that he supports "one state-owned casiono,"’ prefereably at a place like the Mall of America or in downtown Minneapolis.

“I’m not interested in expanding gambling for private interests,’’ the governor said.

Although the racino proposal promises to send millions to the state, it also would be boost the value of the tracks.

If some sort of gambling bill does pass this session, Dayton said, revenue that is produced should not be used to construct a Vikings’ stadium. Rather, he said, that revenue should be put directly into public education.

The governor said it doesn’t make economic sense to use gambling revenue to support something like a stadium bond, because gambling revenue is “not reliable,’’ meaning the interest the state would have to pay on a stadium bond would be higher.

But for all of those discouraging words to the racino crowd, Dayton did add this rather large caveat:

“I don’t want to rule anything out.’’