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ZZUNUSED
Casino-themed fundraisers facing crack down
Joe Eddins entertains guests as he sings "Stay With Me" on Monday, December 31, 2007, at the second annual New Year's Eve Casino Night at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center. The state lottery commission is now saying casino-themed fundraisers are illegal.
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HUNTINGTON -- The arrival of table games in West Virginia is bringing a halt to casino-themed fundraisers sponsored by nonprofit groups and civic clubs.
The Huntington Symphony Orchestra was set to have an event called "Bright Lights Vegas Nights" on April 25 to raise money for its summer Picnic with the POPS season. For $100, guests could win play money at slots, roulette wheels, blackjack and craps tables and use their fake winnings to bid on prizes donated by local businesses. All of the real money collected at the door would have gone to the orchestra.
However, the state Lottery Commission informed the orchestra through Gov. Joe Manchin's office Tuesday that casino-themed fundraisers are no longer allowed in West Virginia if they include the elements of consideration, chance and prize.
After several failed attempts, state lawmakers last year adopted table games legislation that allows that form of gambling only in the counties that have racetracks and authorize it through local-option elections. Voters in Kanawha, Ohio and Hancock counties approved table games, while Jefferson County voters defeated the measure.
"Through the legislation, the Legislature found that table games are a form of lottery and reserved them for the racetracks," said John Melton, an attorney for the Lottery Commission. "They pay $2.5 million a year in general licensing fees plus taxes to have the sole authority to do that."
Laura Evans, executive director of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra, said she was surprised when Cabell County Delegate Jim Morgan told her Tuesday that she would have to scrap the Vegas-style fundraiser. Morgan, who is on the orchestra's board of directors, was notified by Jim Pitrolo, Gov. Joe Manchin's legislative director.
"I feel a little jilted, because the Lottery Commission could have done a better job at getting the word out to all of the other nonprofit organizations in the state that have these types of fundraising activities," Evans said. "Why are we being singled out?"
She noted that the Junior League of Huntington sponsored a casino-themed fundraiser last month, and that the Young Professionals Committee, a branch of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, has celebrated New Year's Eve with a Vegas-style party the past two years.
"It's very frustrating for me as director of a nonprofit organization that is pouring all of its resources into this event to be told with a week to go that you have to change everything," she said.
The orchestra now has hired a Chicago company that will treat guests to a "murder mystery" night, Evans said. The fundraiser still costs $100 and is set for 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, April 25, at State Electric Supply, 2012 3rd Ave.
"The good news is that we've turned this into a positive," Evans said. "People are getting really excited with the murder mystery theme."
Melton said Lottery Executive Director John Musgrave decided to notify the orchestra that it should consider altering its fundraiser as a "courtesy." Melton said Musgrave found out about the fundraiser in Tuesday's Herald-Dispatch.
"It wasn't intended as a threat that we would send in people to shut them down or anything," he said.
Lottery Commission officials have not decided whether they will initiate a statewide campaign to make other nonprofit groups or civic clubs aware of the change, Melton said.
The change also affects entertainment companies that offer casino equipment for parties. Greg Harkins, owner of H&H Enterprises in St. Albans, said Vegas-style parties represent about 5 percent of his business.
"It's not going to kill us, but it's a service we can't offer to our customers," Harkins said. "I don't think the Lottery Commission understands how popular these types of fundraisers are all over the state."
Harkins views Vegas-style fundraisers as no different than attending a concert.
"No real money ever touches the tables, ever," he said. "All people are doing is making a donation to a charity in exchange for an evening of entertainment."
Melton said the Lottery Commission has to draw the line on casino-themed fundraisers. If it allows the events to continue, bars and private clubs could try charging money at the door for patrons to play table games, he said.
