News From Charlestown Casino, Charles Town West Virginia
Here is some interesting new from the Charlestown Casino and Racetrack in Charles Town West Virginia.
In a nutshell, they will be 33% larger and are spending 25 million on expanding.
An interesting note, 95% of the people who gambe at Charlestown are from out of state.
It seems like they are trying to beat Maryland and Pennsylvania in the slot machine race.
I had no idea how much money they were making, but I did notice the parking lot iss usually full.
A good idea if you ar going there on the weekends is to stay home and play online. They admit in their article that there are not enough machines.
The article follows...
I scraped this from the AP. But they are cited at the end of the article
Charles Town Races seeking OK for 1,000 more slots
By VICKI SMITH
Associated Press Writer
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- The Charles Town Races & Slots is seeking permission to add 1,000 slot machines as part of a $25 million expansion plan at the Eastern Panhandle track, bringing the total to 4,500.
The Lottery Commission has scheduled a March 31 public hearing on the request, according to a notice posted on its Web site Wednesday. The hearing will be held at the Comfort Suites in Martinsburg, followed by a regular meeting of the commission at the track later that morning.
John Finamore, senior vice president of regional operations for the track's parent, Penn National Gaming Inc., said as many as 300 machines would be installed later this year if the commission approves.
The balance would likely be installed in 2005, with timing based on customer demand and what Finamore called "the competitive landscape." Neighboring Pennsylvania and Maryland both have been considering slot machine legislation.
West Virginia's four racetracks have become major tourism destinations and are expected to generate at least $170.1 million in revenue for state government this year.
Charles Town alone drew some 4 million patrons in 2003, Finamore said. On a typical weekend, 25,000 to 27,000 people pass through the property.
"There's no question that on peak periods - Fridays, Saturdays and holidays - we don't have enough product," he said.
Charles Town is currently approved for 3,500 slots and has about 135,000 square feet of gambling space. The latest expansion would create another 30,000 square feet for gambling.
Although Charles Town completed a $54 million expansion just last year, officials say the track is so busy that it's common for the 1,500-space parking garage to be full.
"We are parking-challenged here on a regular basis," Finamore said. "We joke that it's a good problem to have, but it's really not. It's a frustration for the guests and we need to address it."
The expansion would create 1,000 more spaces for the garage. The project also calls for construction of new office space and replacement of a maintenance building and water tower.
The Lottery Commission last approved an expansion of the slots-only casino at Charles Town in February 2002, when it raised the number of permitted machines from 2,000 to 3,500.
State law does not limit the number of machines a track can have. The Racetrack Video Lottery Act says expansions may be approved as long as the Lottery Commission deems more machines "in the best interest of the tracks, the commission and the citizens of West Virginia."
So far, the commission has yet to deny a request from a track, with members saying the market will determine when enough is enough.
Finamore said it's impossible to guess how long the boom will last.
"However, we still feel the market is very under-penetrated, and there is still a lot of growth potential," he said. "How long it will go? I don't have a crystal ball that's very accurate, but I do know that we continue to see a lot of first-time visitors."
About 95 percent of Charles Town gamblers are from outside West Virginia. At least 35 percent of them are from Maryland.
Finamore said Charles Town patrons are loyal, and the track has no immediate fear of losing customers to other states should they approve gambling.
"They may go and visit a new place, but they tend to go back to where they're comfortable, where they've had good experiences and where they've won," he said. "Having said that, we're not going to sit still. We're going to defend our business."
Posted by casinoboy at March 3, 2004 05:41 PM
we are from Pa. and visit charlestown races and slots at least once a week. we have been coming there for over 6 years now.
we have noticed that lately the machines tend to be SET "tight". and no chance of winning. we USED to hear screams from other people winning, but no more. we walk around alot and NEVER see nobody winning more than a LITTLE at a time. nothing like it used to be.
we have other people from Pa. that come there too. and they have noticed the change too in how the machines are set tight.
we are very discouraged. i know nobody can win all the time, but it would be nice to come down and play on the same amount of money, for a longer period of time, like we USED to a few years ago. instead of spending that much in just an hour.
we play nickel machines for the most part, but do play quarter and dollar machines too.
i just don't believe that the payout is what it USED to be. and was hoping that that could be changed.
that way, we would keep coming back. but the way it is NOW, we will very rarely, if at all, come down to gamble anymore. and we used to LOVE coming there once a week, if not more, to gamble.
so, i was wondering if there was something that could be done about the payouts, especially on fri. sat. and sun.
thank you, tina greeawalt