West Virginia Lottery Commission could cap number of slots at racetracks

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2000 | 9 a.m.

"It's just like anything else in life. Too much of something is not good," Virgil Thompson said Monday.

Although he is not yet worried about the rapid expansion of slots and video lottery machines, Thompson said the commission tends to focus on issues when citizens complain.

The commission has no immediate plans for a cap on the number of machines, but it could eventually consider one, Thompson said. The market determines how many machines a track needs, and the commission might set a figure just below that, he said.

Last week, the Lottery Commission held a hearing on the Charles Town Races' plan to install 500 new slot machines. It postponed a decision until Sept. 19 after three commissioners missed the hearing because of flight delays.

The proposed expansion would give Charles Town Races 2,000 machines, more than any other track in West Virginia.

The track, owned by Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Pa., started out with 400 machines in 1996, then expanded to 1,000. Last September, the track won permission to expand to 1,500 machines, and now it wants approval for 500 more.

The trend worries Delegate John Overington, R-Berkeley.

"I don't think any of us had any idea we would be going to 1,000 and 2,000 machines," Overington said.

Ted Schieffer, Charles Town's director of gaming operations, said he would be concerned about any limits on slots.

"We're not going to go out and add games just to add games," he said. "Right now, the 500 games make sense."

The track still doesn't have enough machines to accommodate its customers, Schieffer said. On weekends, there are lines at many machines.