The installation of slot machines at Charles Town Races and Slots has saved the horseracing industry in Jefferson County, W.Va.  Drawing in large percentages of travelers and revenue, West Virginia’s racetracks provide the capital to fund local improvements, including rundown stables, senior citizen centers and education.

“Revenue from the machines—now 90 percent of the track’s income—has gone toward raising daily purses from $22,000 to $145,000 and improving the rundown track and stables.”

“Jefferson [County]…has benefited from more than 2,500 jobs connected to the track, as well as a state-approved funding formula that funneled nearly $5 million in slots revenue to the area during the last fiscal year.”

“The track estimates it gets about 4 million visits each year—95 percent of them from out-of-states who wouldn’t have come if not for the slots.”

“In a matter of years, Charles Town Races has transformed itself from a has-been track to a regional attraction, generating more than one-third of the $717 million in slot revenues earned by the four tracks in the last fiscal year.”

“Jefferson County, which has received $2.8 million this last fiscal year, has used the slot revenues to fund its ambulance service and for capital improvements such as removing asbestos from the sheriff’s department.”