MarketingVideo Poker

In November, Arneault boosted Mountaineer's business 5% over the same period last year, largely by offering slot players the chance to collect a different piece of limited-edition Fiesta tableware on every visit. Customers like it. For years, West Virginia's four racetrack casinos had small competition, so customer retention wasn't a urgent issue.

Pennsylvania will soon roll out 61,000 slot machines at 14 locations statewide. And competition for betting dollars within West Virginia has exploded. The Northern Panhandle has the heaviest concentration of video lottery clubs, with about 22% of the state's total.

Few states have together racinos and tavern-style slots. In Nevada, casinos control the tourist market. At Wheeling Island, President Robert D. Marshall Jr. has felt the soupçon of the local gambling joints, which have barely five or 10 machines compared to his 2,330. "A slot machine is a slot machine. "Although we're concerned, we aren't overly concerned."