W.Va. Mountaineer Casino-track Lays Off 35 Workers

CHESTER, W.Va. (AP) — Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort says it's laying off another 35 workers.

The layoffs announced Friday are mostly administrative employees.

Mountaineer says the cuts will enable it to operate "at optimal efficiency in a difficult economic climate."

Mountaineer had laid off 175 workers in January. Those layoffs were across all departments and had left Mountaineer with about 1,900 employees.

The Chester casino-racetrack is one of the Northern Panhandle's largest employers.

Mountaineer is owned by MTR Gaming Group Inc.

MTR President and Chief Executive Robert Griffin said earlier this month that net revenues at Mountaineer were down 4 percent for the second quarter, mainly because of bad economic conditions.