Pretty good reporting from above huh! I love my sources!
Casino News from http://www.centredaily.com/
CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The owner of Charles Town Races & Slots will invest $200 million in the property if lawmakers allow West Virginia's four tracks to feature casino-style table games, a company official said.
Penn National Gaming Inc. would build a 500-room hotel and a 25,000-square-foot conference center if it were allowed to expand, John Finamore, Penn National's senior vice president of regional operations, told Jefferson County commissioners on Monday.
The Wyomissing, Pa.-based company has already invested about $250 million in the track.
State track owners say they need to expand their venues to compete with the expansion of slot machines in surrounding states. State tracks currently operate 11,283 slot machines but Pennsylvania's slots are expected to come on line this year.
Track owners plan to go straight to the public to press their claims that West Virginia laws should be expanded to permit casino-style gambling. State lawmakers have debated a bill but have yet to take action.
Finamore told Jefferson County commissioners that he expects another table game bill will be introduced during the Legislature's 2007 regular session.
He also discussed a proposal that would resolve questions about giving local voters the chance to decide the fate of table games in their counties. The proposal has not been discussed with the state's three other tracks, he said.
If voters approve table games, they couldn't reconsider the issue for five years. The five years would give track owners time to recoup their investments in the games, he said.
Racetrack interests have so far given more than $100,000 to legislative candidates for this year's elections, according to an analysis of campaign finance reports by The Associated Press. Penn National officials, including Finamore, have contributed through the Friends of the Track political action committee.
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