CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center could offer its first poker games to the public on Aug. 21, according to a timeline given to Kanawha County officials on Monday.

Dan Adkins, vice president of racetrack owner Hartman & Tyner Inc., sent Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper a letter on Monday explaining delays in the expansion of the gaming facility and laying out a timeline for table gaming.

County voters approved the addition of casino-style table games at Tri-State last August, but visitors have yet to see the first poker game at the facility.

According to the letter, track officials couldn't order poker chips or other gambling equipment until they paid a $1.5 million licensing fee to the state Lottery Commission. Adkins said the licensing fee was finally paid this month.

The three racetracks approved for table gaming are required by the Lottery Commission to pay a $1.5 million licensing fee the first year and $2.5 million a year after that. Paying before the fiscal year ended would have meant Tri-State would have had to pay the second year's fee on July 1.

"I would have liked to have paid my fee back in March, but I was told no," Adkins said Monday.  

Construction crews began remodeling the facility to add poker tables in April, Adkins wrote. In June, the track sponsored the first in a series of dealer schools to train poker dealers for the racetrack.

Adkins said dealers will be hired in July and August to staff the poker tables. Charity poker games are scheduled for Aug. 18 and 19 so lottery officials can observe operations, but Adkins wrote the date could be pushed back if equipment is delayed or other problems crop up.

Dan Adkins, vice president of racetrack owner Hartman & Tyner Inc., sent Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper a letter on Monday explaining delays in the expansion of the gaming facility and laying out a timeline for table gaming.

County voters approved the addition of casino-style table games at Tri-State last August, but visitors have yet to see the first poker game at the facility.

According to the letter, track officials couldn't order poker chips or other gambling equipment until they paid a $1.5 million licensing fee to the state Lottery Commission. Adkins said the licensing fee was finally paid this month.

The three racetracks approved for table gaming are required by the Lottery Commission to pay a $1.5 million licensing fee the first year and $2.5 million a year after that. Paying before the fiscal year ended would have meant Tri-State would have had to pay the second year's fee on July 1.

"I would have liked to have paid my fee back in March, but I was told no," Adkins said Monday.  

Construction crews began remodeling the facility to add poker tables in April, Adkins wrote. In June, the track sponsored the first in a series of dealer schools to train poker dealers for the racetrack.

Adkins said dealers will be hired in July and August to staff the poker tables. Charity poker games are scheduled for Aug. 18 and 19 so lottery officials can observe operations, but Adkins wrote the date could be pushed back if equipment is delayed or other problems crop up.

Assuming lottery officials give the go-ahead, Tri-State could open to the public for poker on Aug. 21, Adkins wrote.

Adkins thinks chances are "very good" that poker tables will open on time at Tri-State. "We've done a lot of work," he said. "We've spent a fortune since July 1 trying to expedite the process since we could write the [licensing] check."

Track officials had been scheduled to meet with members of the Kanawha County Commission at a regular meeting on Thursday to talk about the track.

Track General Manager Rich Tesler was originally to meet with the commission, but Adkins wrote Carper on Monday that it would be Adkins himself who would talk to county commissioners. He asked to reschedule the meeting for Aug. 7.

Carper said Monday he understands the scope of the $250 million expansion plan at Tri-State. But he thinks taxpayers deserve to know the cause of the delays and when Adkins will make good on his plans.

"It seems like it's time to move forward," Carper said. "I think the public wants to know what they voted for, and when it's going to happen."

"I really wish folks would give us a chance," Adkins replied to criticism of the delays. "It's disheartening that folks don't seem to want to give us a fair shake."

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 348-1215.