CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Dutch Ferrell was looking for something to occupy his time after his wife died.

The Korean War veteran retired from the plumbing business he ran in Roanoke, Va., and moved back to West Virginia, where his sisters live.

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Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008 - Carroll Burnside, an Air Force veteran, practices dealing a hand of blackjack recently at a dealer training school in Charleston. Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center is offering free training classes for veterans interested in learning how to be card dealers.

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When he heard Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center in Nitro was looking for card dealers, Ferrell decided to find out how to sign up.

"I like to gamble. It's exciting," he said.

Then Ferrell found out he could take dealer courses for free. "It's a great deal for me," he said. "It would be for any veteran."

Linda Sutton, who coordinates dealer training for Tri-State Racetrack through West Virginia State Community and Technical College, said Tri-State owners offer full scholarships to military veterans who want to take the training. More than half a dozen veterans are going through the dealer schools.

The training is also being publicized by Work Force West Virginia, which has a dedicated program to connect the state's veterans with job opportunities. "We're pushing the issue a lot more," said Stephen Janney, veterans employment representative for Work Force West Virginia and a Vietnam War veteran who served in an artillery unit.

Allen Harper, who served in the Navy from 1993 through 1997, found out about the dealer schools through Work Force West Virginia. Harper, 33, is one of 110 people learning to deal blackjack at dealer school.

Tri-State opened 24 poker tables earlier this month, and plans to open blackjack tables, craps, roulette and other table games in the coming weeks. A roulette school starts this week.

Sutton said 71 of 72 people who took a recent poker class passed the course. Tri-State is desperate for dealers, and anyone who passes is practically guaranteed a job.

The Korean War veteran retired from the plumbing business he ran in Roanoke, Va., and moved back to West Virginia, where his sisters live.

"I was just alone out there," he recalled.

When he heard Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center in Nitro was looking for card dealers, Ferrell decided to find out how to sign up.

"I like to gamble. It's exciting," he said.

Then Ferrell found out he could take dealer courses for free. "It's a great deal for me," he said. "It would be for any veteran."

Linda Sutton, who coordinates dealer training for Tri-State Racetrack through West Virginia State Community and Technical College, said Tri-State owners offer full scholarships to military veterans who want to take the training. More than half a dozen veterans are going through the dealer schools.

The training is also being publicized by Work Force West Virginia, which has a dedicated program to connect the state's veterans with job opportunities. "We're pushing the issue a lot more," said Stephen Janney, veterans employment representative for Work Force West Virginia and a Vietnam War veteran who served in an artillery unit.

Allen Harper, who served in the Navy from 1993 through 1997, found out about the dealer schools through Work Force West Virginia. Harper, 33, is one of 110 people learning to deal blackjack at dealer school.

Tri-State opened 24 poker tables earlier this month, and plans to open blackjack tables, craps, roulette and other table games in the coming weeks. A roulette school starts this week.

Sutton said 71 of 72 people who took a recent poker class passed the course. Tri-State is desperate for dealers, and anyone who passes is practically guaranteed a job.

Some dealers will be hired full time and some part time, said Dan Adkins, vice president of Hartman & Tyner Inc., which owns the track.

Adkins had originally planned on at least 60 percent full-time dealers. He said he won't know exactly how many full-time dealers he will need until the demand becomes clear at the newly opened casino tables. But Adkins said so many people came to play poker in the opening days that he might have to hire more full-time dealers than he thought.

The free classes came at a good time for Harper, who was unemployed when he found out about the program.

"I've grown up around card players all my life," he said. "I guess you could say it's in my blood."

Harper hopes to get a job at Tri-State after completing his training. "I'm enjoying it quite a bit," he said.

So was Carroll Burnside, 53, who served in the Air Force from 1976 through 1980.

Burnside found out about the free training program for veterans from friends.

"I thought it would be an excellent opportunity for employment," he said.

"So far, so good."

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