SEARCH NEWS:

 

Pennsylvania Wants West Virginia's Slot Success

"…You can find harness horse racing at Pocono Downs along Route 315 just outside Wilkes Barre. It's where you can legally play the ponies. But recently, horse racing alone hasn't been kind to the track's bottom line.

"…The staple of the gaming industry is slot machines! The big question now is can slot machines help revitalize Pocono Downs and in essence revitalize an economy in Northeastern Pennsylvania?

"Newswatch 16 took a little trip south on I-81 to find some answers. Charles Town, West Virginia is just over the border into the Mountain State in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. A four-hour drive from Wilkes Barre/Scranton and you arrive at the biggest tourist draw in the area; Charles Town Races and Slots. The place combines slot machines and harness horse racing, but it wasn't always that way.

"`Before the slots, business was not good. The horse industry not doing well at all. We were having purses of $20,000 a day,' said Roger Ramey, Vice President of Charles Town Races and Slots. `Now we're running with $140,000 a day, doing much better.'

"…It's less than a five-minute drive from the race track to downtown. Talking to people around Charles Town, they say things have changed since slots arrived. Folks in the barber shop spoke in favor of the slots.

"…In West Virginia, the state, the county and the towns around the race tracks all share in the profits. Some Pennsylvania lawmakers, including Governor Ed Rendell, like that set up. Five bills already sit in the legislature to do so. And Rendell's office said he will make slot revenue a key ingredient in his economic stimulus package…"

< Gaming News