THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601180412
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
From the gutted shell of an old supermarket in the industrial heart of the city, an elegant club is emerging.
With heavy oak woodwork, brass fixtures in the shapes of horse heads and walls covered in rich green, maroon and cream, the place harks back to hunting lodges of the old Virginia gentry.
Developers hope that when they finish renovating the old Earle's Market on South Military Highway in Deep Creek, they'll attract some of the area's biggest spenders to eat fine meals, drink premium liquor and slap down hefty bets on horse races simulcast from all over the country.
They're laying odds that the doors of Virginia's first gambling parlor will open Jan. 31, despite powerful forces against them.
Some state legislators, particularly Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, do not want a betting facility to open before the state's first parimutuel horse racing track even is built.
Officials from Colonial Downs, the group that is working on the Chesapeake facility, say they plan to build the racetrack in New Kent County, between Williamsburg and Richmond, as soon as possible.
But construction has been held up by a competing group's appeal of the Virginia Racing Commission's decision to award Colonial Downs the track and licenses for six off-track betting parlors throughout the state.
Colonial Downs Vice President Brett L. Stansley said his group will complete the track within the 14 months required by the state after the appeal is settled. A judge is supposed to hear the appeal next month.
But Stolle said Colonial Downs should be forced either to open the track by August as intended, regardless of the appeal, or to give up their licenses to open the off-track parlors.
The track is the attraction, but the off-track parlors bring in the real money, Stolle said. Stolle said he believes that if allowed to do so, Colonial Downs would build the parlors and put off constructing the expensive track indefinitely.
``We've ended up with exactly what we didn't want in Virginia now,'' Stolle said. ``Let's put the track in place, and then we'll build the off-track betting facilities.''
Stolle has introduced legislation in the state Senate that would revoke Colonial Downs' license to open the parlors. The bill is scheduled to be debated in a subcommittee meeting today. If it is passed out of committee, it would go to the full Senate for a vote toward the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Colonial Downs is proceeding with construction at the Chesapeake site. The group will have put more than $1 million into the project when the renovations are complete.
If all goes as planned, Chesapeake's parlor will be the first to open, followed by another in Richmond in mid-March.
The Chesapeake building, although still under construction, is shaping up to look like a fancy restaurant or upscale sports bar.
Patrons will be charged $2 admission at the door. From there, they can head for a lounge, a dining area, a deli or one of two sections with long counters for people who want to get straight to betting.
There will be 200 televisions broadcasting live horse races from around the country.
``It'll be classy,'' said Bill V. Crawford, Colonial Downs' director of satellite wagering facilities, who has opened similar parlors in other states.
Some there also were against race tracks and gambling centers, Crawford said.
But opposition basically disappeared, ``once they saw that the racetrack wasn't a big, bad thing,'' he said. ``It's just another business in the city.''
``We're not out here for people to come in and lose their paychecks,'' Crawford said. ILLUSTRATION: MORT FRYMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Bill V. Crawford, Colonial Downs' director of satellite wagering
facilities, has opened similar parlors in other states. ``We're not
out here for people to come in and lose their paychecks.''
by CNB