ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 29, 1997 TAG: 9703310063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, W.VA.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The bill would let Greenbrier County voters decide on a guests-only casino at the resort.
A bill that could lead to a casino at The Greenbrier resort was put in legislative limbo Friday when the House Rules Committee declined to move it to the House floor for a vote.
``We just need a little more time to consider the bill,'' said House Majority Leader Joe Martin, D-Randolph County. When asked if that meant there were no longer enough votes for the bill to pass, he repeated his answer.
Meanwhile, opponents of the measure say the bill was introduced late in the session to minimize opposition.
The bill would let voters in Greenbrier County decide whether to allow a guests-only casino at the historic resort in White Sulphur Springs.
Support for the measure changes daily in the House, said Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan.
House Republican Leader Bob Ashley, R-Roane County, said six Republicans plan to vote for the bill, not the nine or 10 Democratic leaders had hoped for to make it appear a bipartisan measure. The House has 26 Republicans and 74 Democrats.
Support among lawmakers may wane this weekend as legislators go home and go to church on Easter, Ashley said. Many churches and clergy oppose gambling.
In past years, the bill has been approved by House committees but died in the Rules Committee, which controls the flow of legislation in the last weeks of the session.
Senate leaders have said there is enough support this year, although the vote would be close.
An opponent said the bill was introduced near the end of the legislative session as part of a ``stealth effort'' designed to subvert the opposition.
Gov. Cecil Underwood said he supports the bill because it would create jobs.
The governor's inaugural committee received $25,000 from The Greenbrier's owner, CSX Transportation. Underwood spokesman Dan Page said Friday the contribution has never been discussed in his presence in relation to the bill.
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart: Gambling at the Greenbrier.by CNB