CHARLES TOWN — Jefferson County voters hoping to get a bigger share of table games revenue by holding out for a different bill from the state Legislature could be disappointed.

State Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeffrey Kessler, D-Marshall, said he very much doubts the Legislature will pass another table games bill. Kessler also said it’s unlikely that Jefferson County would be offered a larger percentage of revenues if the voters turn down the referendum June 9.

“I don’t think you’ll get a better deal later,” he said. “I think this is your one bite at the apple.”

The Legislature tried for years to get both houses to agree on a table games bill, and he said it took a great deal of work for the legislation to pass in the spring. The bill allows counties with racetracks to vote on whether to allow casino-style table games.

The state’s four racetrack counties — Jefferson, Kanawha, Ohio and Hancock — have all scheduled special elections on table games in the next few months. Jefferson and Ohio counties will decide on June 9, while Hancock’s election is set for June 30 and Kanawha’s election day is Aug. 11.

If Jefferson County rejects the referendum and does not allow table games at Charles Town Races & Slots, another election on the issue could take place two years later. But Kessler said the bill will probably stay the same, and the county would be getting the same portion of table games revenue.

“We worked long and hard to craft this legislation,” he said, adding that the bill gives money directly to Jefferson County’s school system because lawmakers considered the area’s unique growth needs. He also said there are a lot of other important issues that the Legislature needs to address in the next few sessions, such as health care and the state’s tax structure.

“I don’t see that there would be room on the table, or an appetite ... to take up (table games) again,” he said.

House Majority Leader Joe DeLong, D-Hancock, and Delegate Locke Wysong, D-Jefferson, each stated similar opinions in recent interviews. They said legislators struggled to gain enough votes for the table games bill, and they didn’t think there would be much support at all for amending the legislation.

However, Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, said he disagrees. Doyle said there is one big reason why he thinks table games will be brought up again: The licenses for video lottery machines need to be renewed in 2010, and that enabling legislation covers video lottery machines, slots and table games.

Because 2008 and 2010 are election years, Doyle said it is very likely that the gaming legislation will be amended in 2009. If table games are rejected in Jefferson County, Doyle said there would be a large incentive for state leaders to make changes to the table games bill while renewing and making changes to video lottery laws.

Doyle thinks Jefferson County should get a higher percentage of revenue from table games, and is urging voters to turn down the referendum to send a message to Charleston and see if they can get a better deal.

“We’re not going to know until we vote this down,” he said, adding that county schools and horsemen should be getting much larger percentages of revenues, especially compared to the large portions that will be sent to the state. If all four racetrack counties approve table games, revenue estimates indicate that Charles Town Races & Slots would generate about half of the state’s table game funding.

Under the legislation, Charles Town Races & Slots will pay a 35-percent tax rate on adjusted gross receipts from table games. Jefferson County Schools will receive 3 percent of the tax revenues, while other funds will be set aside for racing purses, track employee pensions, the state Lottery Commission and the State Debt Reduction Fund.

Doyle said he did vote in favor of the bill in March, and he said he is opposing it now because it does not offer enough for Jefferson County. Doyle said Kessler and other Northern Panhandle leaders urged him to support the table games legislation because racetracks in Ohio and Hancock counties need a chance to help that area’s sluggish economy.

Besides Doyle, another table games opponent also thinks Jefferson County should receive a higher percentage of funding. Linda Hoffman, a Jefferson County school service personnel employee, said she thinks Charleston leaders would reconsider legislation because of the amount of money the state would be losing.

“If we reject it because we say this is not a good deal ... it’s in (the Legislature’s) best interest to try again,” she said. Hoffman added that she thinks the state would try to do everything possible to appease Jefferson County voters and give them a higher percentage in order for the referendum to pass, which would send many millions of dollars more into Charleston.

“This is worth so much money to the state,” she said.

Those who support the referendum in Jefferson County have stressed the new jobs and millions of dollars in local funding that will be created from table games, as well as the preservation of horse racing and farms in the area. On the other hand, opponents have moral concerns and are worried about gambling addictions, negative effects on families and the possibility of increased traffic and crime.

If table games are approved, Charles Town Races & Slots plans to open 75 tables early next year. Those 75 tables would probably offer blackjack, craps, roulette and “carnival games,” like Caribbean stud and three-card poker. Five hundred full-time jobs with benefits would be created in that first phase: 300 to 350 dealer jobs, as well as jobs in security, housekeeping and beverage service.

Early voting for the table games referendum continues until June 6, and is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

By BETH HENRY\ / Journal Staff Writer