Governor ties reform to table games plan

Friday, Aug. 5, 2005 | 9:51 a.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Any proposal to allow table games at West Virginia's four racetracks should also rein in video lottery parlors that are spreading across the state, Gov. Joe Manchin says.

Some legislators want the governor to include table games as part of a special session planned for September to address salaries.

Manchin said lawmakers must first deal with problems caused by the 2001 bill legalizing video lottery machines in adult settings. The law led to an explosion of small gambling parlors, especially in border counties.

"They have to come to me to show me there's some good for the public in this," Manchin said. "If they put a reform package together and they felt it was something both sides of the aisle would want, then I would consider putting it on the agenda."

Earlier this year, lawmakers failed to advance legislation that would have allowed voters in Hancock, Ohio, Jefferson and Kanawha counties to vote on permitting table games, such as poker and blackjack. Manchin has said he would sign such a bill.

Foes have criticized the state's growing reliance on lottery revenue. The tracks host thousands of video lottery slot machines that generated $371 million for the state last year, 72 percent of all its lottery revenue.

Supporters argue the tracks stand to lose customers and lottery revenue without table games, in the face of looming competition. Pennsylvania recently legalized slots, and expects them to go online by late 2006. Maryland and Ohio also have debated adding the machines to their lottery systems.