Two West Virginia casinos will officially debut table games Thursday. The games will start at 10am and the casinos are hoping that the table’s games which include blackjack, craps and roulette will lure customers back.

After a Monday night test run on the games, officials at the Mountaineer and Wheeling Island casino’s have ceremonies set for Thursday morning. Poker was rolled out in October after the referendum was passed by voters over the summer.

Ted Arneault, Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort President, expects to attract a younger crowd stating,

"It broadens our potential customer base - 80 percent of slot players are generally 50 and older, 80 percent of table game players are 50 and under."

He added, "There's going to be a lot of energy and a lot of people playing. I think it's going to be very similar to Las Vegas or Atlantic City."

Overall the Mountaineer will have 50 table games and Wheeling Island will open 43. Of course with these opening means new jobs in the community. So far, Wheeling Island has added 500 employees, and Mountaineer has added 725 jobs.


- 2007-12-19