Will We Let the Moral Majority Rule?

With the House of Delegates approving the table games bill, it seems that it may just be a matter of time before it passes the Senate as well – placing table games right along side the existing slot machines. However, there are those groups who are fundamentally opposed to the table games, as they say they will lead to the moral downfall of the state.

If it passes the Senate, it will go to the people of the counties who host the racetracks, and therefore would host the table games. There is a good chance that it will pass because the majority of people in those counties work at the racetracks. This is very upsetting to those opposed to the bill, as they wanted a state wide vote so that they had more of a chance of getting it defeated.

When the lottery was made legal, these same groups complained that it would ruin the state; however, it doesn’t make much sense to complain about the proximity of gambling when they are surrounded by it on practically all sides. Anyone in the state can play the slot machines, or they can go across state lines to play them. The idea of adding table games is so that they can keep the revenue they are currently bringing in at a kind of level. If all goes as planned, the table games will supplement the slot machine revenue that they will lose by the slots going legal in other states.

With the proximity of other states and other options in gambling out there, West Virginia might as well take advantage of all they can, because residents will continue to gamble. It is the difference between the revenue being in WV or some other state.



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