In a 23-10 vote, the West Virginia Senate recently passed SB 100, which would establish a process for existing greyhound and horseracing tracks to operate a satellite location in the same county as the casino.
The bill now moves to the House for further consideration. A county voter referendum and approval from the state Lottery Commission also would be required.
State Senator Eric Nelson, the bill’s sponsor, is particularly focused on developing a casino in the Town Center Mall, located in the same county, Kanawha, as Delaware North’s Mardi Gras Casino. Nelson noted it “would take some kind of tenant/landlord relationship for that to go into the mall. It’s shameful to walk through that facility right now. Quite shameful and it’s very unfortunate.”
Nelson added, “We have different forms of gaming right now, as it relates to online gaming as well as limited video lottery, but this is in a controlled environment and would bring in much more activity and spending dollars in many other ways.”
Under the bill, gaming companies would be limited to two locations in a given county: the existing racetrack and one satellite facility.
The Georgia-based Hull Property Group purchased the Town Center Mall last year for $7.5 million. When it opened in November 1983, it was the largest downtown-based shopping mall east of the Mississippi River. Currently it has only one anchor store.
Nelson said a satellite casino could aid the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, which recently has undergone a $200 million renovation. West Virginia Racing Association President John Cavacini added, “I think that if a casino were located at the Town Center Mall, it would spur development of some of the offices and businesses that have left down there. It is purely an economic issue.”
There was no debate prior to the vote, however, state Senator Mark Maynard said, “I promised to defend Christian values and, as you know, gambling isn’t looked fondly upon many. However, I am a free-market capitalist and I can see some value to the bill.”
In 2019, a satellite-location gambling bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate.
