Table Games Paying Off?

The owners of West Virginia's four racetracks argued they needed casino table games to blunt the threat of competition from gambling legalized by neighboring states.

At least one track says the initial results are proving them right.

"Slot play at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester has surged 13.6 percent compared to the same period last year since the Northern Panhandle track opened 37 poker tables Oct. 19," the track reported to The Associated Press last week.

Both Mountaineer and nearby Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center began offering table games Oct. 19, with Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center slated to follow suit.

Voters in those three counties approved table games in elections earlier this year, while Jefferson County voted them down for Charles Town Races & Slots.

AP reported last month that the latter's track owner suffered a sharp fall in earnings during the third quarter.

The state Lottery Commission expressed optimism to The Charleston Gazette last week that table games would shore up lagging video lottery revenues at the Northern Panhandle tracks.

The Lottery gets a hefty take from the thousands of video lottery terminals hosted at all four tracks, and also gets a share from the new table games.

West Virginia's main competitor for gamblers is Pennsylvania, which began opening slot casinos late last year. But in his online column today, MetroNews Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval considers the move afoot in Maryland to join the pack.