From table games to a new West Virginia University president, 2007 brought big changes to West Virginia. Here are a few of the state's top news stories:

TABLE GAMES: Roulette, blackjack and other table games are now up and running at two Northern Panhandle casinos.

Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester have had poker tables since October, but the Lottery Commission granted approval in December to go live with more complicated table games.

Gamblers in Kanawha County, however, will have to wait until next fall for poker tables.

Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center said earlier this month it has had problems getting classes for poker dealers up and running, and the tables can't open until the dealers are trained.

West Virginia racetracks fought for years to legalize table games, arguing they will help keep the state ahead of growing competition from new slot parlors in Pennsylvania. This year, legislators let the four host counties vote on the question.

Ohio County approved them first for Wheeling Island, while later elections cleared table games for Mountaineer in Hancock County and Tri-State in Kanawha.

Voters rejected table games in Jefferson County. Charles Town Races & Slots, owned by Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Pa., can request a new election in two years.

NEW HOUSE LEADERSHIP: A Tri-State legislator took the helm of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Delegate Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, began his first session as speaker of the House in January.

NEW WVU PRESIDENT: West Virginia University got new leadership after longtime President David Hardesty retired. Hardesty was replaced in April by Mike Garrison.

Garrison served as chairman of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission before resigning to be considered for the WVU post.

OLD SLOGAN IS NEW AGAIN: West Virginia became "Wild, Wonderful" again this fall.

Gov. Joe Manchin's office announced Oct. 30 that 28,046 of the 48,757 people who voted in an online and telephone poll selected "Wild, Wonderful" as the new state slogan.

Manchin sought the poll as a way of selecting a slogan that would replace "Open for Business" as the welcome note motorists see when entering the state.

The "Open for Business" slogan was put on the welcome signs two years ago as a way to encourage investment in West Virginia, Manchin has said. But the slogan wasn't well received.

The "Wild Wonderful West Virginia" phrase became widely used in the mid-1970s, appearing on everything from government pamphlets to license plates.

Former Gov. Arch Moore started using the slogan in 1969 and it remained on the state's welcome signs until then-Gov. Gaston Caperton removed it in 1991.

MEGAN WILLIAMS: Megan Williams, 20, a black woman, was allegedly tortured and raped by six white men and women in Logan County this fall. She has called on prosecutors to file hate crimes charges against the defendants. So far, prosecutors have not done so.

The case has garnered some national attention and two rallies in Charleston, including one featuring the Rev. Al Sharpton.

Those arrested were:

Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, faces a kidnapping charge that carries life in prison, if convicted. He originally was charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding. Prosecutors added two more sexual assault charges.

Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville was charged with sexual assault, battery, malicious wounding and assault during the commission of a felony.

Alisha Burton, 23, of Chapmanville, Karen Burton's daughter, was charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery, kidnapping, sexual assault and battery.

George A. Messer, 27, of Chapmanville was charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery, kidnapping, sexual assault and battery.

Frankie Brewster, 49, of Big Creek was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, battery and giving false information to police.

GHENT EXPLOSION: A Jan. 30 explosion from a propane tank leak at a gas station in Ghent, W.Va., killed four people.

The blast occurred just before 11 a.m. at the Flat Top Little General Store on Route 19 in southern West Virginia, shattering windows about a mile away and toppling a firetruck that had responded to the scene after a 911 call about a propane gas leak, fire officials said, the Times reported.

According to the report, a local volunteer firefighter, a county building inspector and an emergency medical technician, all investigating the leak, were among the dead, the police said.

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