Charles Town WV Agrees on Slots- Part 2
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Finamore said, “We won! To win is the important thing, and to win by a wider margin than we lost last time speaks to a lot of things — the campaign we ran, the needs, the revenues we’ll produce. … It’s a great outcome.” GM of the racino Al Britton said that the differences this time were the strong desire to change the market around for th egood. He said, “Now we roll the sleeves up. We start the work recruiting and training and getting the facility ready to accept the games. We’ve got our work cut out for us, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Regarding those against the gambling, the argument was that addictions would run rampant throughout the community if slot machines were brought into the fray. They also claime that the new jobs promised would “probably not be as many” and would be “low paying” jobs. The economy however is creating people with a “something is better than nothing” attitude. Finamore added, “People want jobs and if it turns out that instead of 500 jobs, we only create 450, they’ll be happy. That’s 450 families that are going to have an easier time of their bills.”
While many voters have changed positions since 2007 because of a new revenue-distribution formula that benefits local governments and schools, a Vote No group complains the track and the state still get too much money. They say residents face the threat of higher taxes for law enforcement, emergency services, road construction “and social services to address the needs of the many new low-wage workers brought in to fill positions.” They are claiming that the state is ill prepared to handle the door it just opened.
The unemployment rate in the state is more than 6% and the bottom line is that people need help– any help. Almost no one is willing to stand idly by and let the economy fix itself by itself. Rather, people are wanting to be proactive. If voting to bring slot machines to the state is what turns the economy around, then most people are ready to do it. The big concerns about ethics and addictions are going to be addressed slowly. For now, the new racino owners are ecstatic.

