W.Va. Parlors Weathering Pa. Competition

The West Virginia bars and clubs hosting video lottery machines appear to be holding their own against the slot casinos that began opening in neighboring Pennsylvania last year, The Associated Press reports.

The AP's Vicki Smith compared three years' worth of September revenue figures for parlors in nine border counties, and found little change since the out-of-state competition emerged.

"While revenues dropped slightly in several counties, the year-to-year losses for September were small - about $10,000 in Brooke, $40,000 in Berkeley and Hancock, and $50,000 in Jefferson," the article said. "The largest drop was in Ohio County, but even there, revenues were off by only $100,000, the state's figures show."

But the state's panhandle racetracks have not fared as well, which is one reason why they pursued the casino table games that debuted at two of the locations earlier this month.

The debate over video lottery parlors continues in West Virginia, with National Public Radio airing this piece from Scott Finn. With audio.