Tracks Await More Games

WHEELING, WV — Santa could bring blackjack and roulette games to local racetracks in time for Christmas.

Officials at both the Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center and the Mountaineer Casino Resort and Racetrack announced Wednesday they would host charity nights Dec. 17-18 to kick off new table gambling offerings there.

It’s likely paying games will open to the public soon after, pending regulatory approval by the West Virginia Lottery Commission. The roulette and blackjack offerings at the tracks would join poker games, which began Oct. 19.

And the racetracks have forgotten about their video lottery machines.

The officials also announced Wednesday that those gambling devices will be open 24 hours a day beginning at 7 a.m. Friday. Presently, the games are programmed to shut down from 4-7 a.m. each day, but now the software has been changed by the State Lottery Commission so the video lottery machines can operate in conjunction with the 24-hour table gambling offerings.

Robert Marshall, president and general manager at Wheeling Island’s track, said the move to 24-hour gambling was a good one, ‘‘since we do have to ask a lot of people to leave’’ each night when the devices shut down.

‘‘There’s no question about it,’’ he said. ‘‘We will keep people here through the night and also get those people who might want to come in at 3 a.m.

‘‘There are a lot of people who want to play at night when there are no crowds around,’’ he added.

Marshall also said the expanded hours should make Wheeling Island more competitive with slot parlors in neighboring Pennsylvania.

Poker games at the track have ‘‘turned out great’’ and proven thus far successful, according to Marshall and track spokeswoman Kim Florence.

‘‘The poker room has been busy,’’ Florence said.

‘‘And we’re also seeing different customers from those we usually see. They are younger customers than what we’ve had before.’’

A quick glance into the poker room Wednesday afternoon did show the tables largely full — occupied mostly by college-age men.

There were customers signed in waiting to enter a game, and a poker employee announced over the public address system that an opening in one game had just occurred.

The poker room can accommodate as many as 200 players, and there also are 2,200 video lottery machines at the track.

Tamara Pettit, spokeswoman for the Mountaineer Casino Resort and Racetrack, said when that track hosts its charity nights with roulette and blackjack games, proceeds will benefit the Weirton Area United Way.

Additional details pertaining to the opening at Wheeling Island’s track are to be announced.

The Intelligencer

News Added: 22 November, 2007

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