Pennsylvania talks table games
By CASEY JUNKINS, For The Weirton Daily TimesWHEELING — Two Northern Panhandle racetracks have been rolling dice and spinning roulette wheels since December, and now some legislators in Pennsylvania are pushing to add table gambling to that state’s casinos.
When officials with Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort lobbied members of the West Virginia Legislature to allow table gambling last year, their main pitch was that the tracks — and therefore the Mountain State — would lose money to Pennsylvania once that state opened slot machine parlors.
Now, Keystone State legislators are holding a series of public hearings to allow casino executives and others to share their views on House Bill 2121, which would permit table gambling at Pennsylvania’s slot machine facilities, such as the Meadows Racetrack and Casino that opened in Meadowlands, Pa., last summer.
In light of previous fears about losing business to Pennsylvania slots, it seems the Mountain State tracks could lose some table gamblers to their eastern neighbors if that state were to allow table gambling.
Tom Andrews, press secretary for House Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese of Waynesburg, Pa., who is sponsoring the legislation, said DeWeese wants to facilitate discussion of the bill.
“In Pennsylvania, the money raised from gambling is used to provide property tax relief, and this is his (DeWeese’s) main concern,” Andrews said.
Andrews said there are currently seven operational slot machine parlors in Pennsylvania, including the Meadows — located about 35 miles northeast of Wheeling.
Other current Pennsylvania casinos include Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, Harrah’s Chester Downs in Chester, Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Hollywood Casino at Penn Nation Race Course in Grantville and Presque Isle Downs in Erie.
And with the Majestic Star Casino proposed to open on Pittsburgh’s North Shore sometime in 2009, another one may be added soon.
Presque Isle Downs is owned by MTR Gaming Group Inc., which also owns Mountaineer in Chester.
Tamara Pettit, spokeswoman for Mountaineer, had little to say Thursday about table gambling in Pennsylvania.
“We have no comment on this,” she said.
Kim Florence, spokeswoman for the Wheeling Island track, also declined to comment on the issue.
While Andrews is not sure when — or if — the Keystone State will allow table gambling, he said the current legislation will die if it is not passed by the time this year’s legislative session ends in November.
“If it is not passed in this session, it will have to be reintroduced in the new session,” he said.
