NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va. -- A tax dispute between Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort and Hancock County has wound up in court.

Sheriff Mike White is suing the resort in an attempt to force it to collect the hotel occupancy tax on rooms it gives gamblers for free. White's lawsuit says Mountaineer has improperly refused to collect the 6 percent tax since March 2009.

The lawsuit seeks $600,000 in damages for lost tax revenue, along with attorney's fees and any other compensatory damages allowed by law.

The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register (http://bit.ly/TWyBik ) says White filed the lawsuit in Hancock County Circuit Court.

Mountaineer general manager Chris Kern has said the resort complies with all tax regulations, and it doesn't have to collect tax on rooms it gives gamblers for free.