THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310475
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
The state's first horse race betting parlor, originally scheduled to open today in the Deep Creek section of the city, will be delayed at least another week.
Construction on the building, a gutted supermarket, is not complete, said Bill V. Crawford, director of satellite wagering facilities for Colonial Downs. The group has been given licenses to open six such parlors across the state to accompany a horse race track to be built in New Kent County.
Crawford did not specify a date for the grand opening.
The Chesapeake parlor, along with another one scheduled to open in Richmond this spring, has been mired in controversy.
State Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle, R-Virginia Beach, wanted to block the opening of the parlors until Colonial Downs met a deadline for building the track. Stolle said he feared that if Colonial Downs was allowed to open the profitable parlors, the group might renege on its agreement to build the expensive and less-profitable track.
Stolle said he and other legislators did not want gambling parlors in Virginia unless there was a racetrack, too.
Stolle and other legislators now say they would agree to allow the Chesapeake and Richmond parlors to open if Colonial Downs earmarks all of the parlors' profits for construction of the track or for prizes for future horse races at the track. by CNB