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West Virginians Push for Table Gambling to Save Economy
West Virginia citizens and legislators are debating a bill that would permit four race tracks to add table games such as blackjack and poker to their other gambling attractions. The racetracks that would add the games, if the bill passes, are in Jefferson, Hancock and Ohio counties.

Advocates of the proposed legislation argue that table game gambling, which is available in 11 other states, could raise West Virginia state revenue by at least $15 million a year.

They also stress that their opponents smear their proposed bill by claiming that it is intended to introduce an array of new gambling venues to West Virginia. They would like to emphasize, however, that this bill would add table games at existing venues only, rather than creating any new gambling spots.

"People in general think this is a new gambling bill. It's not. We're just adding amenities," said Robert D. Marshall Jr., President of Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center. "We're just asking for more product."

Neighboring states have, in recent years, liberalized, or are currently in the process of liberalizing, their gambling laws. For this reason, many West Virginias feel that their state must change its own laws in order to compete. Pennsylvania, for example, will soon authorize licenses for 61,000 new slot machines. Marshall Jr. estimates says that, due to this development, West Virginia stands to lose at least 30 million annually from its tax base, as well as several hundred jobs. These calamities will occur, Marshall Jr. warned, if officials fail to legalize table gambling soon.

At Wheeling Island only, Marshall Jr. maintained, 250 jobs will be lost in the near future if the state does not issue permits for table gambling in the upcoming months. If the legislation does pass, conversely, he will add some 350 jobs.

Similarly, employees of the Mountaineer Racetrack & Gaming Resort (MTR) will face severe lay-offs if the bill is not passed, according to President Ted Arneault. The MTR, which is very close to cutting into its bottom line, imposed a hiring freeze last month. According to Arneault, if the law is not changed soon, "the freeze could turn into a more aggressive form of layoff." If, on the other hand, table gambling is permitted, MTR could add as many as 400 jobs.

Arneault maintained that the table gambling licenses are essential for West Virginia’s economic health. "The economy is more primed for this bill than it ever was. People can look ahead and see West Virginia is going to need the revenues we're going to generate," he said. "In the Northern Panhandle, especially, we need the jobs and the economic impetus this can provide."

This is not the first attempt that gambling advocates and the politicians that sponsor their bills have tried to get table game permits for West Virginian racetracks. In fact, it is the third. A bill that would have allowed the counties to put the table gambling issue to a vote died at the end of the last legislative session. Gov. Joe Manchin would not allow the issue to be discussed in a special session in September. However, it is widely believed that the issue will be taken up by Congress during the present session.

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