JC / Railbird

The tracks are betting everything — including their very survival — in a last desperate roll of the dice to win a green light for slots, the Herald has learned.

Track supporters are planning to push a controversial proposal to OK thousands of one-armed bandits at dog and horse tracks tucked into a related, but noncontroversial State House bill, according to a key lawmaker and activists on both sides of the debate.

That bill, which would extend simulcasting rights that allow racetrack patrons to bet on races from around the country, must pass by year’s end or the state’s four racetracks will fold … “It’s betting the house — literally,” noted one gambling foe and State House observer. “It’s frightening.”