West VA Seeks Table Games
In a move to protect itself from the emerging Philadelphia gaming market, West Virginia looks like it will approve table games as early as later this week. Though the state has traditionally shied away from adding games such as craps, blackjack and roulette, it looks as if state legislators have had a change of heart now that nearby Pittsburgh is scheduled to get a massive and ultra-modern slot parlor.
Rumors have been circulating for months about this possible legislative change, and now the Mountain State seems destined to let the dice roll. Earlier this week the state’s Finance Committee approved the measure with a 16-9 vote. Next up is the House of Delegates who is set to vote on the issue imminently. It is widely expected the measure will pass.
Back in 2005, several attempts to bring table games to West Virginia failed, but since last fall, momentum has been building toward giving the thumbs up to the tables.
According to a report given to www.onlinecasinocrawler.com by Susquehanna Financial Group, an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group (SIG), it looks as if there is a sea change in the attitude toward table games. “The West Virginia legislative session ends in March and we expect the bill could move quickly through the legislature. We continue to believe that the opening of slot faculties in PA will be a catalyst for the WV legislature to enact table games legislation,” the report notes.
If House Bill 2718 is approved, table game revenue would be managed by the state’s lottery system. Casino revenue would be taxed at a 35 percent rate. Additionally, those gaming facilities wishing to add table games to their mix will have to shell out a $1.5 million license application fee and $2.5 million renewal fee. That renewal fee would double if the casino does not have at least 150 hotel rooms. Two properties -- Charles Town Races & Slots and Kanawha County's Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center – would have to expand to meet that requirement. Once the bill is passed, individual counties where the casinos are located will vote on approving table games for their existing facilities.
State Delegate Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock County, said it looks like change is imminent. There's been a little bit of a shift in the wind," he said. "People realize, hey [Pennsylvania casinos] are a reality."
According to a spokesperson at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort, table games would add between 400 to 450 jobs to its total of about 1,500 employees now. The casino is located in Hancock County, which has a 7.3 percent unemployment rate, said the spokesperson.
The addition of games of chance could help Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center in Wheeling keep clientele, said state Sen. Jeffrey Kessler, D-Marshall County. West Virginia casinos need to give Pennsylvania gamblers a reason to keep driving over the border, he said.
"It's something we have to do in order to set us apart from the new facilities they're building in Pittsburgh and at The Meadows" Racetrack and Casino in Washington County, Kessler told the AP several weeks back. "It's silly to drive down to Mountaineer or Wheeling Downs when you're passing a similar facility at The Meadows that has the exact same machines."
According to SIG, polls are now consistently show residents support having tables at the tracks. “We think the issue will receive a lot of attention as slots in PA begin to roll out, and the issue of slots in Maryland receives more press,” said their report.
The original legislation introduced last year was rejected in part because the tracks had called for a measly $24,000 annual license fee and a tax fee of 24 percent.
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