Mancini's Commentaries

State's reliance on gambling revenue second in nation

Associated Press is reporting West Virginia is second in the nation behind Nevada in the reliance of gambling revenue in the state budget. The report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government also said West Virginia is No. 1 for the growth in reliance on revenue from gamblnig. Gambling revenue was about 9 percent of the 2006 West Virginia budget, the institute said. The share in Nevada, where Las Vegas is a gambler's mecca, was 13.4 percent. The reliance on gambling money grew 6.4 percent between 1998 and 2006, the highest of any state, the institute said.