Misinformation and misunderstanding doomed several bills dealing with West Virginia's gaming industry - including legislation to end state subsidies for greyhound racing at racetrack casinos, advocates said Thursday.
"I think lawmakers were sold a bill of goods with flimsy arguments," said Carey Thiel, executive director of Grey2K USA, a national group looking to end greyhound racing for humane reasons.
Thiel said he believes greyhound owners and breeders confused legislators with misinformation, including estimates that the industry employs 1,700 people - or about three times the number cited in the Spectrum Gaming report on the industry prepared for the Legislature - and that as many as 3,000 greyhounds might have to be put down if racing ended in the state.
Thiel said that has not happened in other states that have ended greyhound racing, including Rhode Island, Iowa and Massachusetts.
Since greyhounds have racing careers lasting only about 18 months, breeders have to find homes or other arrangements for the dogs, whether their careers would end now or in a year-and-a-half, he said.
John Cavacini, West Virginia Racing Association president, said he was surprised that the House balked on the bill, which would have freed up about $20 million a year for the cash-strapped state budget.
The bill passed the Senate 29-5 but was taken off the agenda in the House Finance Committee, replaced with a resolution to study the issue for a year.
"All I've heard for the last six months from legislators and from newspapers around the state was that it was something that should be done, but then all of a sudden, nothing happened," he said of legislation to end the racing subsidies.
Greyhound racing also was a topic of study during legislative interim meetings last year but was addressed in only one committee meeting, Cavacini said.
"Hopefully, they'll spend more time this year to understand the industry," he said. "This is a very complicated industry."
Meanwhile, Cavacini said he was pleased by the defeat of another gaming bill, to eliminate $9 million a year in state matching funds for West Virginia's racetrack casinos to upgrade their gaming areas.
That bill passed the House 62-37 but was soundly defeated in the Senate, on the last day of the regular session, on a 28-6 vote, after several senators said the Racetrack Modernization Fund is critical to help gaming facilities compete with newer, more glitzy casinos in neighboring states.
"I think the Senate recognized that the Modernization Fund has helped the tracks to stabilize their revenues, and keep the jobs they have," Cavacini said.
Conversely, a bill that would have increased the maximum number of limited video lottery machines allowed in bars, clubs and fraternal organizations around the state breezed through the Senate on a 32-2 vote, but it was never put on the agenda in House Judiciary Committee.
Michael Haid, executive director of the West Virginia Amusement and Limited Video Lottery Association, said the bill - which simply would have increased the maximum number of machines allowed from five to seven in bars and clubs and from 10 to 12 in fraternal organizations - would increase state revenue by $20 million a year by putting more machines in locations with highest levels of play.
Haid blamed House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, for blocking the bill in the House.
"Apparently, the speaker had a problem with five-to-seven and thought it was an expansion of gambling," Haid said.
"That's the part that gets me the most. It was a no-brainer; the Lottery was on board," he added. "There was no reason not to do it, except for the speaker's evangelical outlook on social issues."
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1220 or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.