Greenbrier Hotel
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by: Gene Koprowski.
West Virginia voters this week approved a referendum that will allow The Greenbrier hotel and resort to add casino gambling to its entertainment offerings.


The ballot measure allowing a casino at the White Sulphur Springs resort passed by a vote of 51 percent to 49 percent, or 6,683 votes to 6,317 votes.

A number of unions that represent most of the 1,200 employees at the resort promoted the proposal as a method to generate new revenue to keep employees' health care and other benefits.
The resort and the local unions are in protracted negotiations over a new labor contract. The Greenbrier has said it is operating at a loss.

Andrew Fogarty, The Greenbrier's president, sent a letter to employees that said in light of the referendum's passage, the resort "will promptly retain a third-party advisor to comprehensively evaluate gaming's potential impacts. While we do not know what the outcome of this analysis will be, we do know that gaming would require significant investment in a challenging economy and therefore must be evaluated very carefully," Fogarty indicated.

In the meantime, Fogarty said, it is quite important to make progress with the Greenbrier Council of Labor Unions and strive to reach a collective bargaining agreement that returns The Greenbrier to a competitive market position.

Greenbrier spokeswoman Lynn Swann said the resort does not yet have a timeline for having an adviser's report in-hand.





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