Table Games Passes the House - UPDATE

Today's vote was close, 53-40 with two absences (Frederick, D-Mercer, and Walters, R-Kanawha).

(I've clarified the vote total because two sets of "paired" votes aren't supposed to count in the official roll call: Don Perdue, D-Wayne, and Robert Schadler, R-Mineral, each paired a "yes" vote with a "nay" vote from Sam Cann, D-Harrison, and Walter Duke, R-Berkeley.)

It marks the first time the House has voted on a table games bill since the issue emerged several years ago.

Besides The Associated Press article, I've filed a roll call and a glance of the bill's highlights.

As I note, 17 Democrats voted against the bill (18 if Cann is included), while 2 Republicans broke ranks to support it (3 if you count Schadler).

Though Eustace Frederick, D-Mercer, has been ill and was absent, he ask that his vote be recorded in the negative (it is NOT counted in the tally).

Once and future Delegate Ron Thompson, D-Raleigh, meanwhile still has yet to take the oath for this term and so is not counted at all.

At least 16 delegates argued for or against the bill before its passage to the Senate.