Another Year Older

Yes my 3 readers, I have been blogging for 6 years as of today.  Considering the content and the look, that is kind of a dubious distinction.

Do I still have the same hunger for the game?  Yes.  In fact in the past couple of weeks I have been playing more and playing better than I have in a couple of years.  But again, that is not saying much.  At least I enjoy the hell out of it.

I am not going to bore you with links to my "best of" posts.  I don't think there are many.

A lot has happened in six years.  Poker in the US has waxed mightily and is now waning.  Casinos were illegal in West Virginia, and now there are five of them.  Poker for money on the internet was once "legal" and now it is "illegal" (at least funding your account with funds from US banks).  I have held two widely diverse jobs.  I quit one and was unceremoniously let go from the other.  In between them I was out of work for 11 months.  And currently I am unemployed.  If you have been waiting to offer me a job, now would be the perfect time to offer.

I will give you an article I found in "The Charleston Gazette" online.  I find it amazing that the new Hollywood Casino, not 20 minutes from my house, is doing so well.  If you are like me and too lazy to click the link, here is the article:

September 29, 2010 

 

Charles Town table games offset Lottery problems elsewhere

 

By Phil Kabler

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A second gangbusters month for table games at the Charles Town casino/racetrack bolstered an otherwise dismal August revenue report, members of the state Lottery Commission learned Wednesday.

In their first full month of operations, table games at Charles Town's Hollywood Casino raked in $9.75 million in August -- far more than the state's four other casinos combined.
Charles Town accounted for 58 percent of all table games revenue in the state, followed by $3 million at Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino, $1.8 million at Nitro's Mardi Gras Casino, $1.46 million at Wheeling Island, and $776,318 at The Greenbrier resort casino.

Blackjack alone brought in $2.23 million at Charles Town -- more than the entire table games revenue for Wheeling Island and The Greenbrier combined.
Dean Patrick, Lottery deputy director for table games, told Lottery commissioners that these figures could be just the tip of the iceberg for Charles Town.
He said Charles Town is set up for 85 gaming tables, but is operating about half the tables at any given time because the casino doesn't have enough licensed dealers.
Because of high demand and limited spaces, the tables at Charles Town have minimum bets of $25 or higher, he said.

Charles Town also accounted for more than half of the state's share of table game profits in August, paying accounting for $3.4 million of the state's total $5.88 million in table games "privilege taxes" for the month.

Charles Town's success was the bright spot in another dismal month for state Lottery revenues overall.

In August, total state Lottery revenues were $118.3 million, down 4 percent from $123.2 million in August 2009.
Racetrack video lottery was down about 9 percent, at $64.5 million, and traditional on-line and scratch-off games were also down about 9 percent, at $15.86 million.
Limited video lottery, at 1,594 bars and clubs around the state, was off 2 percent, at $31.7 million.

Spurred by Charles Town, table game revenues were up 205 percent over August 2009.
Conversely, the new casino at The Greenbrier has failed to meet Lottery revenue projections since its opening, providing the state with a total of about $974,000 in table games and video slots revenue since July 1, about 16 percent below projections.
But Jim Toney, the Lottery's deputy director for revenue, noted that The Greenbrier saw improvement in August, with the state's share of revenue coming in at $591,000.
The Greenbrier opened its permanent, $80 million casino July 2.

A second gangbusters month for table games at the Charles Town casino/racetrack bolstered an otherwise dismal August revenue report, members of the state Lottery Commission learned Wednesday.

So until I get a job and a bankroll, Enjoy the Pokery Goodness for me.

P.S.: Thank you for reading what for me is an "uber-post".  Sorry Iggy, I could not resist.  I miss your posts, but I guess the time for them is over.

It has been too long...

since I last posted. Not too much going on here until last week. The local paper, The Journal, had an article about Table Gaming revenues estimates in West Virginia.

As some background, the 4 racetracks in the state could have table gaming if the voters in the county where the racetrack is located voted to have table gaming. 3 of the 4 counties voted to have table gaming. The fourth, Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia did voted it down.

The article said that the State's Table Gaming authority - the State Lottery Commission had new estimates of how much revenue the track in Jefferson County, Charles Town Races and Slots would have made in the first and second years of Table Gaming. Their initial estimates were low. Jefferson County Schools, the beneficiary of the Table Gaming revenue would have received approximately 2.25 million the first year instead of 1.45 million. And in the second year (and subsequent years) would have received about 4.5 million.

Some county officials thought that there would have been a bigger push to vote for Table Gaming if these numbers had been presented at the time of the vote.

In related news, I was flipping around on cable and caught a local commercial for Charles Town Races and Slots. It was a PR commercial - this is what we have done to help the community type spot.

I can smell another vote on Table Gaming coming up next year. This time, hopefully, the fine citizens of Jefferson County will vote "Yes" so I can have a poker room 20 minutes from the house.

Stay tuned for updates...

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

Now It's Up to the Voters

The West Virginia Table Game Law was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. Now it is up to the voters in the four counties in West Virginia that have race tracks. A special election has been set up in Jefferson, Kanawha, Ohio, and Hancock counties on June 9th of this year. A majority of voters in a county need to vote for Table Gaming to allow it in their individual county.

The West Virginia State Lottery Commission is currently busy studying regulations which will be put in place if one or more of the counties votes for table gaming. Proposed regulations cover everything from chip and dice weight to minimum security standards at the gaming facilities.

The Lottery Commission is consulting with Michigan and New Jersey on these regulations. They also expect to add a division to the Lottery Commission and hire around 50 people.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!

WV Gaming Law Update

It was reported yesterday that the Table Gaming Legislation (not yet introduced as a bill) only calls for about 12 percent of the gross proceeds to go to the state. Governor Manchin wants that percentage to be 24 percent. According to the State Lottery Commissioner, the higher percentage is more in line with the state and industry. Gaming industry officials say they want the lower percentage so they can build and renovate to make each Race Track a "resort" facility.

I hope they can compromise on the percentage. This one of the things that killed the bill two years ago. If they do not find a compromise, then the visitors from Pennsylvania will stay in their state and play their slots there, people working at the tracks will lose their jobs, communities will get less money for local projects, and most importantly (hee hee) I will not be able drive 20 minutes and play poker.

More updates later.

Enjoy the Pokery Goodness!