Table games legislation is ‘dead,’ lobbyist proclaims

Thursday, April 7, 2005 | 9:20 a.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Legislation allowing casino table games at West Virginia's four racetracks is dead, one of its leading lobbyists said Wednesday, though the House committee assigned to the bill has not ruled out considering it today.

"As far as we're concerned, the bill is dead," said Nelson Robinson, a lobbyist for Mountaineer Racetrack and Gaming Resort. "At this point, the votes are not there."

Robinson has helped promote Senate Bill 442, which would allow the four committees that host racetracks -- Hancock, Ohio, Jefferson and Kanawha -- to vote on whether to permit the games at the tracks.

Robinson said support for the bill evaporated among House Judiciary Committee members during a closed-door meeting of its Democratic majority on Wednesday.

Robinson blamed a change in heart by several members he considered supportive of the bill. He also said at least one member planned to oppose the bill to protest Gov. Joe Manchin's proposals to aid the state's insurance industry.

House Judiciary Chairman Jon Amores said Wednesday that he could not predict how his committee would vote. Amores, D-Kanawha, would not rule out including the bill on its Thursday morning agenda.

The Legislature's session ends at midnight Saturday, and its rules require the reading of a bill on three separate days before a vote on passage. Barring a vote to suspend the rules, the bill must clear both the Judiciary and Finance committees before the House's evening floor session Thursday for a first reading. The Senate passed the bill last week.

Bill supporters argue the games will keep the tracks from losing customers to out-of-state competition. The tracks' video lottery machines have become a major source of income and tax revenue. But Pennsylvania recently legalized slots, and expects them to go online by late 2006. Maryland and Ohio have also debated adding slot machines to their lottery systems.

The bill's foes oppose another layer of gambling, and some have pushed for a statewide vote to decide the issue.

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