CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gambling enthusiasts could be playing poker and blackjack at two Northern Panhandle tracks within a matter of weeks.

State lottery Director John Musgrave said state regulators are on pace to allow card games at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester and Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center by Nov. 1 at the latest.

Dice games and roulette, which are more difficult to supervise, should begin by January.

Musgrave announced the projected dates at Wednesday's Lottery Commission meeting.

A timetable for Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center in Nitro hasn't been finalized, but Musgrave said that track will be several weeks behind the panhandle tracks.

The Lottery will have 15 full-time employees at each track. Overall, the agency will have between 50 and 70 employees total overseeing table games, including workers at the Lottery headquarters in Charleston.

Residents in Ohio, Hancock and Kanawha counties voted over the summer to legalize table games at their respective tracks.

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