Aug 18, 2003 4 min read

With all the debate over legalizing slot machines in Pennsylvania, I figured it was time to make a short trip to find out why more than two million people a year travel to a dog-racing track just across the state line in Wheeling, W.Va. This was my first trip, a 90-minute drive from Uniontown, to Wheeling Downs, renamed this year as the Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center.

We arrived around lunchtime Wednesday. It might as well have been Saturday night. The place was packed. People were dropping nickels, quarters and dollars into slot machines everywhere you looked.

Of the 2,000 slot machines, jammed rather tightly into the huge building, probably at least 1,500, or more, were in use that afternoon. The gamblers were overwhelmingly retired senior citizens. I estimated that the average age of the players was around 65 or even a bit higher.

A major expansion project has just been completed at a cost of $65 million. It includes a new 150-room hotel, two restaurants, a bar and lounge, a 600-seat showroom, and a business and fitness center. The gaming center, dog track and hotel are surrounded by a parking lot with space for 2,800 cars.

The dog track, the original attraction for the area, was not open Wednesday. We were told a dog virus, or some other health problem, had shut down the dog racing for the past several days. We took a quick tour of the dog track area, but there were only a handful of spectators there.

Back in the gaming area, though, the place was humming with activity. Believe me, there was no dust gathering on any slot machine within arm’s reach. I was impressed. It was as if a train had stopped outside and unloaded a thousand passengers all at once.

Those who visit the dog track on a more regular basis assured me that Wednesday’s big crowd was not unusual. It gives you a better understanding of how two million visitors are reported there every year.

They turn the slot machines on at 9 a.m. and the place stays open until 3 a.m. The amount of money going into the machines, constantly hour after hour, during that time staggers the imagination.

The gaming center, hotel and restaurants are clean, modern facilities. The dog track is an older facility, but well maintained.

I was a little surprised to find the entire facility was located in an older section of Wheeling, just a few blocks off the interstate highway. For some reason I had expected the track would be in a wide open area outside the city.

If you were to imagine the same facility in Pennsylvania, it would be an easy and natural fit for a place such as the Meadowlands horse racing track near Washington, Pa. The resort, gaming atmosphere matches up there. It’s more difficult to envision a slot machine gaming center at Nemacolin Woodlands & Resort . How do you mix slot machines in with a five-star hotel/corporate conference center?

If you took the Wheeling complex and moved it to a place like Brownsville, Connellsville or Uniontown, it would attract thousands of visitors.

Exactly what impact it would have on the local economy would be unknown, but it would put enormous pressure on public services, such as police, highways, and sewer and water systems.

Adding slot machines at locations in Pennsylvania will definitely create more revenue for the state, and give the budget of the local borough where the facility is located a boost.

But slots will not create high-paying jobs for the local communities. Wheeling can be cited as an example.

If Pennsylvania adds slots, how long will it take for West Virginia to add table games, such as blackjack, to their gaming centers? Then will Pennsylvania feel enough pressure from the out-of-state competition to add casino-style gambling games?

Those are questions to ponder.

And, no, before you ask, I didn’t win any money.

Mike Ellis is the editor of the Herald-Standard. His e-mail address is: mellis@heraldstandard.com.