Table Games Debate

With all of the talk about table games joining slot machines at four county racetracks, there has been much discussion about the vote and meeting deadlines, but very little discussion about the pros and cons of the table games. There are several groups who are fighting to keep the table games out of West Virginia for they say that slot machines are more than enough.

Well, Thursday night they got their say. There was a debate as to whether or not Jefferson County voters should approve table games at the Charles Town Races and Slots. The debate was at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, with four leaders debating the pros and cons.

Walt Pellish, co-chairperson of YES! On the Jefferson County Table Game Revenues & Jobs Referendum, and Alan Sturm, retired Board of Education member, argued the pros of bringing table games to West Virginia. Delegate John Doyle and Reverend Douglas Fraim argued against the games.

The pros included funding for schools and new jobs. Those new jobs would give medical, dental and life insurance as well as retirement options for people who currently don’t have those options. They said that no where else are you going to find jobs with these great benefits. They also said that even though what they were offering seemed paltry compared to the state, it was more than they had ever been offered before and that the schools really needed the money.

The cons said that the county did not get enough of the revenue that the games would be generating, and they don’t think that those kinds of jobs are what their county needs. They say that the legislation didn’t offer enough to the county and they want people to turn it down to say that they want more money – like the amounts that are going to the state. They also said that there are many moral reasons why the games should not be legalized, and that schools should not rely on gambling money to support them.

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