Charleston Daily Mail Editorial
Table games will bring more jobs
The community would benefit by making Tri-State a destinationTuesday
July 31, 2007
OPPONENTS of table games at the Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center are billing the Aug. 11 vote as a referendum on gambling in general.
The vote is nothing like that.
The racetrack was built for dog racing in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the state added video slot machines. The issue before voters Aug. 11 is whether Tri-State should be allowed to add table games to its mix. The plan is to turn Tri-State into a destination for tourists. Destination gambling is a far cry from convenience gambling. When people board that airplane for Las Vegas, they know they are going to lose money.
The only unknowns are how much and how soon.
People see their gambling losses as a tradeoff for the entertainment. Playing table games such as poker, dice and roulette are diversions for most people. This is a far cry from the convenience gambling at the mini-casinos that dot the state. Those video parlors prey on local people. Two-thirds of the people who visit Tri-State are not from West Virginia.
Owners of the racetrack have promised that if the measure passes, they will invest at least $250 million in their facility to turn it into a resort.
A hotel, an arena, shops and the like will create 750 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs, managers at the racetrack said. The current owners of the racetrack -- Hartman & Tyner -- have a solid reputation and have delivered on an addition. "These are credible people with credible track records," Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, who favors a "yes" vote to table games, has said. "It's a $250 million investment that only comes once in a lifetime. They'll follow through."
Only one outcome is certain on Aug. 11:
If this referendum fails, the area will have no chance at all of a $250 million investment, and 1,000 permanent jobs will not be added.
Voting down the referendum would not stop gambling.
It would end an opportunity to add 1,000 jobs to an area that needs jobs.
A "yes" vote is the only vote that makes sense.
OPPONENTS of table games at the Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center are billing the Aug. 11 vote as a referendum on gambling in general.
The vote is nothing like that.
The racetrack was built for dog racing in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the state added video slot machines. The issue before voters Aug. 11 is whether Tri-State should be allowed to add table games to its mix. The plan is to turn Tri-State into a destination for tourists. Destination gambling is a far cry from convenience gambling. When people board that airplane for Las Vegas, they know they are going to lose money.
The only unknowns are how much and how soon.
People see their gambling losses as a tradeoff for the entertainment. Playing table games such as poker, dice and roulette are diversions for most people. This is a far cry from the convenience gambling at the mini-casinos that dot the state. Those video parlors prey on local people. Two-thirds of the people who visit Tri-State are not from West Virginia.
Owners of the racetrack have promised that if the measure passes, they will invest at least $250 million in their facility to turn it into a resort.
A hotel, an arena, shops and the like will create 750 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs, managers at the racetrack said. The current owners of the racetrack -- Hartman & Tyner -- have a solid reputation and have delivered on an addition. "These are credible people with credible track records," Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, who favors a "yes" vote to table games, has said. "It's a $250 million investment that only comes once in a lifetime. They'll follow through."
Only one outcome is certain on Aug. 11:
If this referendum fails, the area will have no chance at all of a $250 million investment, and 1,000 permanent jobs will not be added.
Voting down the referendum would not stop gambling.
It would end an opportunity to add 1,000 jobs to an area that needs jobs.
A "yes" vote is the only vote that makes sense.
posted by Charleston West Virginia Economic Development
@ 1:00 PM
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