Poll: Table games toss-up

Lawrence Messina

Monday, Feb. 28, 2005 | 9:20 a.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The House of Delegates would likely pass a bill allowing Hancock, Jefferson, Kanawha and Ohio counties to decide whether to add casino-style table games at their racetracks, but the vote would be a squeaker in the Senate, an Associated Press poll suggests.

The AP survey conducted last week also indicates that table games advocates cannot count on GOP support for a county-level referendum: no House Republicans and only three GOP senators among those surveyed said they might vote for such a bill.

The AP interviewed 77 of 100 delegates, including 18 of 32 Republicans, and 31 of 34 Senators including 11 of 13 GOP members. Those surveyed also included 27 of the 30 lawmakers that represent racetrack counties.

Legislators in favor of county referendums included 46 delegates, or 60 percent of House members polled, and 11 senators. But several said their support would depend on the details in any local election bill.

Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, said he would not want the bill to extend to his county, home of Charles Town Races & Slots, or to Kanawha County for its Tri-State Racing and Gaming Center.

"Right now, they don't need them," Doyle said of table games. "It's the two Northern Panhandle tracks that need them because they have competition from Pennsylvania."

The Keystone State has legalized the sort of video slot machines that have enriched West Virginia's tracks and lottery system. One industry study suggests table games could lessen the expected loss in customers and revenue at Hancock County's Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort and Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center in Ohio County.

Other legislators said they found themselves balancing dueling issues.

"I don't support gambling," said Sen. Sarah Minear, R-Tucker. "I have mixed feelings, but to be fair to the counties involved, I'd prefer that they be able to make the decision."

Of the senators surveyed, 12 opposed county elections while eight were undecided or could not answer. In the House, the poll found 18 delegates opposed and 13 who declined to answer or were undecided.

A number of lawmakers surveyed -- 33 in the House and nine in the Senate -- said they want a statewide referendum on the table games question. An equal number of delegates and 13 senators said they would oppose such an alternative.

Supporters and foes alike believe the table games issue would fail in a statewide vote.

With a table games bill expected as early as this week, the West Virginia Racing Association recently polled several hundred West Virginia residents. Among other questions, the as-yet-unreleased poll asked whether people would vote for legislators who backed the local option bill.