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West Virginia Ahead
West
Virginia has decided to lead the way in
legalizing table games. Now, I know that
table games have been legal in other
states as well, but West Virginia is the
first state to legalize them under their
state lottery. They have voted in
legislation that will allow their four
counties that have racetracks to decide
whether or not they want table games.
With each state trying to outdo the
other in terms of gambling, it is wise
to stay ahead of the pack, and West
Virginia has done just that with their
new legislation. The gambling industry
thinks that the legislation is important
because it opens the door for state
lotteries to open full service casinos.
This is unheard of in the industry, and
many are excited by the possibilities
that it now opens.
This means the state, instead of
independent operators, will run the
casinos – in theory. But with them
legalizing table games, experts believe
that other states will soon follow suit.
With Pennsylvania just legalizing slot
machines, and already discussing the
possibility of table games, experts
think that it will just be a matter of
time before they have them as well. Then
what happens when Pennsylvania has them?
How does West Virginia stay ahead of the
industry?
Many believe the next step will be to
push for lower tax rates for the
casinos. They will say that if it were
lower they could put more money into the
casinos themselves, and then more people
would want to come. This in turn will
spur the other states to ask for lower
tax rates, and then West Virginia will
have to come up with another way to make
money.
The problem with staying ahead in an
industry such as gambling, is that you
have to stay ahead, and that gets harder
and harder with everyone on your tail.
With revenue being at the core of the
problem, unless the state comes up with
a whole other way of bringing in
revenue, they are going to have to stay
ahead to compete.
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