W. Virginia Senate passes sports wagering bill
CHARLESTON, W.VA. » The West Virginia Senate passed a bill Tuesday to legalize sports betting at the state’s five casinos in the event that a U. S. Supreme Court case leads to the repeal of a nationwide ban.
The bill was approved 25-9 and now moves to the House of Delegates, where a similar bill is pending .
he Senate bill would allow sports betting at West Virginia licensed casinos and on Lottery Commission-approved mobile device applications.
Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, led the chamber through the discussions Tuesday. He said the bill simply gives casinos “one more tool to be able to provide entertainment. All our bordering states are considering this as well, so we need to remain competitive.”
But Democrats Douglas Facemire of Braxton County and Michael Romano of Harrison County said they were worried about the temptation of sports betting among the state’s 1.8 million residents, 18 percent of whom live below the poverty line.
Romano said he doesn’t oppose casino gambling because it’s fun,
but didn’t like how easy it would be to bet on sports through a mobile phone app.
“When you make betting no harder than going down to your corner pizza place or beer joint and gamble, and you make it no harder than holding this thing in your hand to gamble, you’re taking a big risk with our citizens,” Romano said. “Do we want to be a part of that?”
Romano also said he didn’t anticipate the state would get a big return on its investment.
Cabell County Demo- crat Mike Woelfel said he attended a Super Bowl party where people were using their phones to place wagers.
“They didn’t have to go to a track,” Woelfel said. “So this is going on and this is a fact of modern society. And it’s a stream of potential tax revenue that I don’t think we can ignore.”
Conservative estimates are that the bill would bring in revenue of about $5 million for the state in its first year. Blair said casinos would be charged $100,000 for a five-year sports betting operators license, and maximum bets would be established by the casinos or by state lottery rule. didate to join Peterson in the front office in some capacity.
Cho was hired as GM in 2011 and assumed day-today responsibilities of the basketball operations department in 2014.
“I will always be grateful for my experience with the franchise,” Cho said.
Cho and the Hornets have struggled with building a consistent winner.
He was responsible for drafting All- Star point guard Kemba Walker in 2011, but the team’s inability to get the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft after a 7- 59 season proved to be a backbreaker. Instead of getting perennial All- Star center Anthony Davis, the Hornets settled for Michael Kidd- Gilchrist with the No. 2 pick, a significant dropoff in talent.
Charlotte missed on second-round pick Jeffery Taylor from Sweden in 2012.
They took Cody Zeller, now a backup center, fourth overall in 2013, Noah Vonleh ninth in 2014 and Frank Kaminsky ninth overall in 2015. Cho drafted Malik Monk in the first round last year, but he barely sees any action for Charlotte because of concerns about his defense.
Cho traded this past offseason for center Dwight Howard, who has improved his play and had a decent season for the Hornets. However, the five-year contract given to Nic Batum last year has left the Hornets strapped under the salary cap.