Any news out of WV on table games at the casinos? nm

[esknights]

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[klezmaniac]

Out of today's Journal:

Table games bill to debut today

By NAOMI SMOOT / Journal Staff Writer

MARTINSBURG — Members of West Virginia’s gambling industry are keeping their fingers crossed today, as they make a third bid at bringing table games to the state.

A new piece of legislation on the subject is slated for introduction in the West Virginia Legislature this afternoon. It will be the third bill of its kind to be introduced in as many years. But this time around, some people say the bill could see approval and that a referendum on table games could occur in the four counties that have racetracks.

“I’m cautiously optimistic for the first time that this bill will be introduced and be put in to a committee,” said John Cavacini Jr., president of the West Virginia Racing Association.

He is hopeful that the bill will be processed, debated, amended and approved in both the West Virginia House and Senate, he said. Then, and only then, he noted, will the issue be sent before citizens for a final decision on whether or not to permit new games, such as poker, black jack and roulette, at the state’s four gaming institutions.

Area legislators, however, say issues like revenue — and the referendum itself — which need to be considered before the topic comes before West Virginia’s voters.

Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, represents one of the four counties where table games could be approved — Jefferson, Kanawha, Ohio and Hancock. His vote on any legislation on the issue will hinge on several factors, he said.

For starters, Doyle said he would like to see additional gambling revenues sent back to the areas where they are generated. Doyle said he would like to see at least $1 million in additional funds put toward schools in areas like Jefferson County.

He would like to see another $3 million a year, of $25 million up front, be put toward the counties’ farmland protection programs, he said. Such a requirement would help protect the county’s agriculture, and the racing industry, he said.

Horse racing “is integral to the agricultural economy of Jefferson County,” Doyle said.

Sen. John Yoder, R-Jefferson, had potential concerns about the new bill and where the revenues generated by table games would be spent as well.

“My concern with table games has always been with where the money goes,” Yoder said, adding, “I’d like to see it go to infrastructure.”

Investing the new funds in roadways and similar projects would be a smarter way to use the state’s portion of gambling revenues, he said. Yoder and other legislators said they were uneasy about relying on the money for the state’s general fund. Such money could dry up in the future, leaving West Virginia in a financial lurch, Yoder noted.

“I’m concerned about the gaming companies coming here and then eventually leaving as Maryland and other states get it,” he said.

Delegate Walter Duke, R-Berkeley, agreed that the state cannot rely on gambling as its eternal cash cow. Neighboring states like Pennsylvania have started permitting slot machines, and the legislature there is already considering the addition of table games, he said. When gambling facilities are installed in these new locations, it could result in a decrease in gambling revenues for West Virginia.

Such funds and their usage were also concerns for Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley. Relying on gambling revenues for the state’s general fund is not as secure as using the money for onetime investments like new infrastructure projects, he said.

“The funding is going to be an aspect of it,” Unger said of his decision about the bill.

But he and other legislators were concerned about more than just the money that could be generated by table games. They were also concerned about the way in which a public vote on the issue could be handled. Representatives were split on whether the issue should come before voters in all of West Virginia, or only be presented to voters in the four counties with racetracks.

Duke said he prefers a vote that is open to everyone.

“I would be opposed to a vote of just the four tracks,” Duke said. “I think it should be expanded. ... If it’s going to impact the state budget, why not let everyone vote on it?”

Duke said the only way a table games initiative could be approved is through a change to the state’s constitution. This, he said, would require a vote by all of West Virginia’s residents.

Doyle sees things differently though, and said a statewide vote would not be the optimal way to handle the issue.

“The statewide referendum is a smoke screen. It’s really an attempt to defeat the bill,” Doyle said. “The only way that we can constitutionality have a statewide referendum is if we make an amendment to the constitution.”

Voters in the counties with racetracks will be the most directly affected by table games if they are permitted, and they should have a say in whether they are approved, he said.

The bill that is being introduced today calls for a local referendum in the individual counties and also includes a provision that would permit the counties to reconsider their decision in five years, Cavacini said. This would enable counties that allow table games to later reconsider the decision and deny their use, he explained.

Doyle said he thinks this bill will make it farther than similar ones have in years past.

“It’s coming up for a vote,” he said. “I don’t know if it will pass, but I think everybody has agreed that we’ve piddled around with it for too long.”



— Staff writer Naomi Smoot can be reached at (304) 263-8931, ext. 183, or nsmoot@journal-news.net

--klez