W.Va. voters approve table games for casino in eastern panhandle

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. (AP) — A measure to let the Charles Town Races & Slots install roulette wheels and craps tables alongside 5,000 slot machines passed Saturday as voters showed they were willing to gamble on the promise of 500 jobs and a positive ripple effect on the local economy.

A roar went up in a ballroom above the casino about two hours after the polls closed, and track officials declared victory. With all of Jefferson County’s 32 precincts reporting, the unofficial vote was 6,279-4,343.

“We’re thrilled. We’re relieved. And Monday, we’re going to start delivering on our promises,” said John Finamore, a senior vice president of the thoroughbred track and casino’s parent company, Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming Inc. “I can’t wait to start filling those $45,000 jobs we promised.”

Both sides had hoped for strong turnout, mobilizing many of the county’s 33,000 registered voters throughout the day with full-page newspaper ads, Facebook pleas and personal phone calls.

Two years ago, voters rejected table games. Penn National believes many of its supporters took victory for granted.

A heavy snow fell Saturday, covering the countless campaign signs along yards and roads throughout picturesque Eastern Panhandle communities like Shepherdstown. Total turnout was slightly higher, at 11,072, compared with the 2007 vote.

“It doesn’t matter,” Finamore said. “We won. To win is the important thing, and to win by a wider margin than we lost last time speaks to a lot of things — the campaign we ran, the needs, the revenues we’ll produce. ... It’s a great outcome.”

Al Britton, general manager of the track, said the key differences this time were strong support from the community in motivating voters and the track’s success in telling its story.

“Now we roll the sleeves up. We start the work recruiting and training and getting the facility ready to accept the games,” he said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The arguments against the games were the same as two years ago: Charles Town will become the next Atlantic City. Gamblers will get addicted faster. The new jobs won’t be that great. But 52-year-old Bob Risch of Shepherdstown, who voted for the games, rejected them all.

“I really don’t think it’s going to get out of control like the opponents are saying,” Risch said. “That’s a little over the top.

“I’ve never been to the track but once,” he added. “Just because I’m not a gambler doesn’t mean I oppose it. I think people should have the choice, if they wish, to indulge.”

While many voters have changed positions since 2007 because of a new revenue-distribution formula that benefits local governments and schools, a Vote No group complains the track and the state still get too much money. They say residents face the threat of higher taxes for law enforcement, emergency services, road construction “and social services to address the needs of the many new low-wage workers brought in to fill positions.”