“The sad part about the whole thing is the city of Wheeling - although in the end they were neutral on (the) bill - played around and did not give their approval until (Tuesday). He said while the city had concerns about the bill, there was opposition to the measure by members of the West Virginia Amusement and Limited Video Lottery Association, which operate the state’s limited video lottery machines. John Cavacini, president of the West Virginia Racing Association, attributed the bill’s failure to Wheeling city officials, whom he said did not voice their support of their bill. “One company (Delaware North) is trying to pull a fast one on the people of West Virginia without giving the people a say, and they’re just stepping right on top of all the small businesses that actually hire people,” he said. Maroney said there were a lot of details that would have to be worked out in the bill, and it would be better to take another year and vet the bill properly. Only Wheeling Island and the Mardi Gras Casino - located in Kanawha County - have dog racing.
The second location was required to be within the same county as the racetrack, according to the legislation.
The legislation would have permitted West Virginia’s licensed casinos with dog racing to establish a secondary location to operate video lottery terminals and table games. There’s been no discussion this session of a satellite casino in Greenbrier County.
