Gambling Directory

Race Track looks to grow from machine games to live games

17/10/2001

Mountaineer Race Track president Ted Arneault said that the natural growth of the company look at all forms of entertainment that the customers want.
Lot?s of customer are asking about table games. If you looked at a natural growth process, that would be the next place to go to.
Table games contains blackjack, poker and keno games, being able to play live any games we currently play on a machine. Except a machine, does not creates jobs, and a alive games will create lots of jobs said Arneault.
Table games would require an act of the state Legislature agrees Arneault. If Mountaineer's next legislative quest is table games, Arneault said ?We don?t have schedule for the time we would try to do that. But we did the economic studies and it looks like it would be a growth area."
The Legislature?s, which attempt to restrict casino gambling to The Greenbrier, would make it hard for other facilities to secure table games.
John Melton, in-house attorney for the West Virginia Lottery Commission, said the Legislature empowered the lottery in 1999 to oversee "one limited gaming facility," which is a euphemism for The Greenbrier. Greenbrier County voters rejected the resort's plans for a casino.
Melton said our official position on table gaming is that the law also says that if a court ever decided there was a loophole in the law or that the Legislature couldn't say just one license is available, then the law would self-destruct and there would be no casinos, including The Greenbrier.

Melton said the current law limits table games to "a historic 500-room guest hotel with guest amenities?. He also says he know Mr. Arneault is increasing the number of rooms at Mountaineer from around 100 to 325 or so, but still it is not historic. Mountaineer Park and its predecessor, Waterford Park, date back to only the 1950s, Melton said.
Melton said the law possibly would be changed by the Legislature. Legislators have the power to make it happen he also said.
Whether the law about table games gets changed or not, to some legislators, the issue is still clear.
Delegate Eustace Frederick, D-Mercer said It's the wrong thing to do, look at the statistics. They all tell you that when you do gambling, one in 20 people are going to get addicted and one in 20 are going to commit more suicide, more murder, abuse their children and their wives, lose their jobs, and on and on.

Gambling Directory - Casino Portals - O