Keystone Slots Take Their Toll on W.Va.

Ten weeks into the fiscal year, both of West Virginia's Northern Panhandle racetracks have seen business plummet in the face of competition from Pennsylvania slot parlors.

Video lottery revenues at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort dropped by $3.6 million, or 7.5%, when compared to this time last year, according to Lottery Commission figures.

Revenue fell by $7.8 million, a 20.8% decline, at Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center.

The Associated Press offers some numbers, drawn from The Weirton Daily Times.

"Since opening, the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, Pa., with 1,738 slot machines, has brought in $59.5 million, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board," the AP article said.

As in Kanawha County, voters in Hancock and Ohio counties each approved casino table games for their respective tacks to blunt the competition. "But no track offers them yet because the state is still training the regulators who will oversee the games," the AP article notes.