Sun coverage: Slot machines in Md.

November 20, 2009

Casino jobs expo a draw

The company hoping to bring slots to Arundel Mills mall held a career fair Thursday that was heavy on lobbying for the not-yet-approved project, asking prospective job-seekers to sign postcards addressed to the Anne Arundel County Council in support of the casino.

November 17, 2009

Arundel Mills operator complains about slots delay

An effort by some members of the Anne Arundel County Council to move a proposed slots parlor away from Arundel Mills mall has left the retail giant feeling "confused, disappointed and frustrated," a top company executive said Monday.

November 13, 2009

Slots bid near Arundel mall gains support

Maryland slots commissioners signaled Thursday that they are prepared to approve a license for a casino near Arundel Mills mall, a project that would be the state's largest gambling venue but has drawn residential opposition.

November 3, 2009

Site near BWI offered for slots

A company that is planning a mixed-use development near Baltimore- Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport has floated the location as a possible venue for a slots casino if a nearby site at Arundel Mills mall falls through.

October 29, 2009

Magna asks court to bar '02 slots deal

The bankrupt owner of Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course wants to terminate a profit-sharing agreement to split any potential slots proceeds with the tracks' former owners, including Joseph De Francis, before the two racetracks go on the auction block early next year.

October 25, 2009

JEAN MARBELLA

Latest chapters stick to protracted slots story line

Let me see if I have this right: We have a county that is rebuffing a deep-pocketed, known-quantity developer who wants to open a slots parlor at one of its malls, and we have a city basically rolling out the red carpet and handing the keys to its proposed casino to a group with ill-defined membership and even less clear financing.

October 25, 2009

Latest chapters stick to protracted slots story line

Let me see if I have this right: We have a county that is rebuffing a deep-pocketed, known-quantity developer who wants to open a slots parlor at one of its malls, and we have a city basically rolling out the red carpet and handing the keys to its proposed casino to a group with ill-defined membership and even less clear financing.

October 22, 2009

Slots panel may deny city, Arundel bids

Commissioners handing out Maryland's slots licenses expressed grave concerns Wednesday about the proposals for lucrative gambling casinos in Baltimore and Anne Arundel County - and said they might toss out those applications if questions can't be resolved quickly.

October 21, 2009

Slots accord may cut taxes

Baltimore's spending panel is expected to approve a pair of land deals with prospective casino owners today that could fulfill Mayor Sheila Dixon's pledge to lower city property taxes.

October 20, 2009

Arundel council delays vote on slots zoning bill till at least December

The Anne Arundel County Council will not vote on zoning bills that would allow slots into the county until at least December, further delaying and potentially derailing an already stalled bid to open what would be the state's most lucrative gambling parlor.

October 19, 2009

Ideas target slots logjam

Anne Arundel County has been mired for months in a zoning battle over what would be the state's largest and most lucrative slots parlor, and now the head of the county council wants the entire project moved from Arundel Mills Mall to an industrial area miles away.

October 11, 2009

Higher price for Md. slots?

The slots parlors coming to Maryland are expected to feature electronic gambling terminals that incorporate popular game shows, celebrities and even life-size digitized blackjack and poker dealers.

October 8, 2009

Slots license for Cecil County nears approval

Maryland's slots commission on Wednesday approved expanding a proposed Cecil County gaming facility from 500 to 1,500 machines and is poised to award the state's second license there later this month.

September 24, 2009

Slots approved for Ocean Downs

Maryland's first gambling parlor could open by Memorial Day, a state commission said Wednesday as it granted permission for 800 slot machines at an Eastern Shore harness racing track.

September 11, 2009

Slots parlor design is criticized

Members of a Baltimore design committee urged the city slots developers Thursday to consider a bolder design and do more to enhance the Russell Street corridor.

September 10, 2009

Slots panel tours site

Members of the state commission considering whether to grant a slots license to Baltimore-based Cordish Cos. expressed frustration Wednesday with continuing delays by Anne Arundel County officials in approving a rezoning measure that would allow the proposed billion-dollar entertainment complex to be built.

September 9, 2009

Dixon orders open bidding on future demolitions

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon directed the city's quasi-public development arm Tuesday to use a competitive bidding process for all future demolition projects, reversing a year-old policy and bringing the agency into line with city rules.

September 7, 2009

City awarded demolition contract at proposed slots site without public bidding

Baltimore officials awarded a demolition contract at the site of a proposed slots casino without public bidding, drawing concern from the city comptroller and the head of a contracting association.

August 30, 2009

A slot bid's sudden impact

A soft-spoken Canadian builder without deep Baltimore ties or much gambling experience sees opportunity in a deal that the biggest local developers chose not to pursue. He came to town last week to unveil his vision for a slots palace that he believes will pull in a half-billion dollars a year - an estimate that found a skeptical reception.

August 27, 2009

Baltimore casino developers show plans for site

Outside, Baltimore's proposed casino would have an industrial look inspired by old warehouses in the surrounding area and a shop-lined pedestrian zone reminiscent of the Eutaw Street promenade at Oriole Park.

August 26, 2009

Casino planned for 5,000

The development team hoping to build a casino in Baltimore plans to construct a two-story slots parlor on Russell Street that could accommodate 5,000 gamblers, according to a preliminary design unveiled at a community meeting Tuesday.

August 25, 2009

Casino bidders cry foul over city site

A plan to move the proposed site for a Baltimore slots casino has drawn a protest from the operator of Laurel Park racetrack, who wants the state to rebid the gambling licenses.

August 14, 2009

Analysis: Site called a boost for slots

An expanded and relocated Baltimore casino on bustling Russell Street is expected to significantly boost the project's profits, and inject new momentum into the state's slots program, which to date has fallen below expectations.

August 13, 2009

City OKs Gateway land for slots parlor

The plans for Baltimore's slots parlor began taking shape publicly Wednesday as the Board of Estimates modified the original deal and permitted the facility to rise on valuable city-owned property that previously was considered off-limits because it had been promised to another developer.

August 7, 2009

Arundel holding up slots, says O'Malley

Gov. Martin O'Malley told members of the state's horse-racing and breeding industry Thursday that Anne Arundel County's indecision on rezoning land adjacent to Arundel Mills mall was delaying the process of getting what is the largest proposed slots parlor under way.

8:26 PM EDT, August 6, 2009

Planned city casino may move, taking over 'sportsplex' land

A Maryland developer would abandon plans to build a $250 million sports themed office and recreation park called Gateway South, and Baltimore's only slots casino would be constructed on the land instead if city and state officials approve the change.

July 21, 2009

Laurel's suit over slots bid turned down

Maryland's highest court ruled that a dispute over Laurel Park's disqualified bid to open a slot-machine casino should be decided by a state contracting board before being litigated in court.

June 10, 2009

Laurel Park wants slots rebid

Lawyers for the Laurel Park racetrack asked Maryland's highest court Tuesday to restore its disqualified proposal for a slots casino license, suggesting the state would be better off restarting a bidding process that has fallen short of expectations.

May 27, 2009

Slots backers, foes turn out

An almost even mix of more than 200 advocates and opponents of a measure that would allow slots at Arundel Mills mall voiced their opinions Tuesday night before the Anne Arundel County Council at the last public hearing before the council votes on the bill next week.

April 9, 2009

City reaches slots pact that could cut taxes

The Dixon administration and the group bidding to build a slots parlor in Baltimore have reached an agreement that could generate enough money to slash Baltimore's property tax rate by up to eight cents, officials said.

April 2, 2009

Hearing on Arundel Mills slots proposal scheduled

Neighbors of Arundel Mills get their chance Thursday night to tell a divided Anne Arundel County Council what they think about legislation that would allow the state's largest slots parlor to be built near the mall.

March 25, 2009

Laura Vozzella: Team Ehrlich back in slot game

The Cordish Cos. has picked a surprising ally in its bid to put slots at Arundel Mills mall: Team Ehrlich.

March 5, 2009

BDC drafting city slots bill

The Baltimore Development Corp. is drafting legislation that would allow slots to go forward in the city as it continues negotiations with the Baltimore City Entertainment Group, the sole bidder for gambling licenses in the city, according to a letter from the BDC. City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake had urged the Dixon administration to draft the needed zoning changes that would allow a gambling parlor to be built on a plot of city-owned property near M&T Bank Stadium. "We were moving forward," said M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., in an e-mail. "But I appreciate her urging us on." Baltimore City Entertainment Group had proposed installing 500 slot machines in the city, far fewer than the 3,750 allowed by law. Mayor Sheila Dixon has hinted that she would walk away from the deal if the for-profit group does not generate enough money for a "significant" cut to city property taxes.

March 2, 2009

Anne Arundel slots zoning bill to be proposed

A bill allowing slots in Anne Arundel County is expected to be proposed at tonight's County Council meeting - the first step in changing zoning laws to legalize slots in the only jurisdiction in the state to receive two site bids for slots parlors.

February 24, 2009

State challenges Magna slots suit

Magna Entertainment Corp. wants a "freeze" of "the entire video lottery licensing process, all because of its own inability to deliver the required fee at the required time," the Maryland attorney general's office said in a court filing yesterday that challenges the company's claim that the state slots bidding process was unconstitutional. Lawyers for the state are arguing that a lawsuit from the Canadian owners of the Laurel Park racetrack should be dismissed because the company should make its case first to a governor-appointed Board of Contract Appeals. The slots commission threw out the bid this month because the company failed to submit $28.5 million in required licensing fees.

February 19, 2009

City Council urges mayor to move ahead on slots

Baltimore City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake asked the Dixon administration yesterday to introduce zoning legislation needed for a gambling parlor and said she is "urging the city to move forward on slots."

February 17, 2009

House bill would allow 3,000 slot machines at BWI

A Baltimore County lawmaker is proposing slot-machine gambling at Maryland's major airport, but Gov. Martin O'Malley called the casino a "bad idea," limiting its chances at a time of slots-related buyer's remorse in Annapolis.

February 13, 2009

Md. commission unanimously rejects 2 slots bids

State officials threw out yesterday two of six recent proposals for slot-machine casinos at Laurel Park racetrack in Anne Arundel County and Rocky Gap State Park in Western Maryland. The decision increases the chances that a large casino will be built at Arundel Mills mall and opens the possibility of another round of bidding in Allegany County.

February 12, 2009

Slots panel to hear from Laurel Park

A commission that will award five lucrative slots licenses will hear claims today from the Laurel Park racetrack that Maryland's new gambling law is "constitutionally defective" and that the process should be halted and corrected.

February 11, 2009

Jay Hancock: Slots bid process wipes out hoped-for benefits

Legalizing slot machines was supposed to save Maryland horse tracks, help Maryland schools and keep the Preakness in Baltimore. That it might fail on all counts, in a kind of grotesque trifecta, is probably what everybody involved with it deserves.

February 6, 2009

Senate president criticizes slots bidding

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller called on a slots commission yesterday to consider tossing out all bids submitted to build casinos around the state and starting over.

February 5, 2009

Cordish proposes slots-entertainment complex at Arundel Mills

The developer vying for the state's most lucrative slots license is wooing officials with visions of a billion-dollar entertainment complex at Arundel Mills that would include hotels, live entertainment venues and Maryland's largest casino - and says he has the money to pay for it.

February 5, 2009

Mayor says city might reject slots parlor

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said yesterday that the city might reject a proposed slots parlor near the Inner Harbor if the bidders' plan wouldn't produce enough revenue to fund "worthwhile" property tax reduction.

February 4, 2009

2 slots bidders did not pay fees

Prospects for a near-term gambling windfall in Maryland fizzled yesterday as state officials acknowledged that two of six bidders for gambling licenses failed to submit millions of dollars in legally required fees and that Baltimore's applicant is proposing a small, 500-machine parlor, not a 3,750-machine one.

February 2, 2009

Md. to open bidding today for slots licenses

As they prepare to open bids for slots licenses today, Maryland officials are casting a wary eye on Kansas, hoping that recent history will not be repeated.

January 8, 2009

City seeks $36 million in yearly slots casino rent

Baltimore expects developers interested in operating the city's only slots casino to pay at least $36 million in yearly rent to the city and build it to exacting environmental specifications, officials told about a dozen lobbyists, lawyers and developers yesterday.

December 19, 2008

State opens slots license bidding

At its first meeting last night, the commission that will award licenses to run slot-machine casinos in Maryland approved a 150-page request for bids that is expected to be sent to potential operators today.

December 9, 2008

Slots panel member wants to tweak gambling plan

As Maryland's slots selection commission takes shape, one newly appointed member wants the panel to go beyond awarding potentially lucrative gambling licenses to consider advising the legislature on adjustments for the just-approved gambling plan.

December 7, 2008

Jean Marbella: First comes the slots mess, then comes the slots money — we hope

Usually, it's the back end of the beast that is the less lovely end. Not so, though, with slots.

December 6, 2008

Neall on deck for slots commission

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, a leading force behind the legalization of slot machines in Maryland, intends to pick a longtime slots opponent for a commission that will award lucrative gambling licenses, according to sources familiar with the matter.

December 5, 2008

O'Malley appoints Fry to head slots vetting

A commission that will dole out lucrative slots licenses in Maryland will be headed by the leader of a business advocacy group chosen by Gov. Martin O'Malley after two prominent university leaders declined interest in the unpaid assignment, according to people familiar with the matter.

November 27, 2008

Pro-slots raised over $7 million

Slots supporters, led by horse racing and gambling interests in the Mid-Atlantic region, raised eight times as much money as their opponents in their successful campaign to persuade voters to allow slot machines in Maryland, according to campaign finance reports released yesterday.

November 6, 2008

Baltimore OKs buying property for casino

Thirteen hours after Marylanders voted to legalize slot-machine gambling, Baltimore officials approved yesterday the city's $4.1 million purchase of land south of downtown for a proposed casino.

November 6, 2008

Md. slots vote gives hope to horse racing industry

With voter approval of slot machines in Tuesday's election, Maryland's horse racing industry knows it has gotten a clean break from the starting gate in chasing what promises to be a substantial increase in revenue. But breeders, owners, trainers, track operators and everyone else involved also know they have a long way to go in realizing the promise of what slots money might mean to their flagging industry.

November 6, 2008

O'Malley rides a Democratic wave

On the electoral map, Maryland just got bluer and Gov. Martin O'Malley's future got brighter.

November 5, 2008

Md. voters give OK to 15,000 slots

Marylanders voted overwhelmingly yesterday to legalize slot-machine gambling in the state after a rancorous campaign, dealing Gov. Martin O'Malley a ballot-box success and settling a debate over which politicians had deadlocked for years.

November 4, 2008

In Maryland, slots share the spotlight

Maryland voters will flock to the polls today, lured by a momentous presidential election but also called to decide on slot-machine gambling and to settle one of the most competitive congressional races in the country.

November 2, 2008

Will referendum be final word on Md. slots? Don't bet on it

After years of gridlock in Annapolis, millions of dollars spent by gambling interests, and incessant protest rallies, voters may render the final verdict Tuesday on slot machines in Maryland.

November 1, 2008

Pro-slots groups plan push to pass referendum

Cloverleaf Enterprises, which owns Rosecroft Raceway, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, each plan to spend at least $10,000 on efforts to pass the referendum on slot-machine gambling, which goes before voters Tuesday, according to filings made with the Maryland State Board of Elections. Rosecroft would not be eligible to bid on a slots license if the proposal is approved, but Cloverleaf Chairman Kelley Rogers said the track would benefit from slots proceeds set aside to enhance horse-racing purses. The track suspended live racing this summer because of financial difficulties. Cloverleaf plans to spend more than $40,000 on phone banks to ask voters for their support. AFSCME has endorsed the referendum as a way to help solve the state's budget shortfalls.

October 31, 2008

Doubt raised on slots parlors

With next week's slots vote coming at a time of economic upheaval, state leaders are acknowledging that they might have to sweeten incentives for gambling companies to attract quality developers.

October 31, 2008

Faceoff: Can slots save horse racing in the long run, or are they a temporary fix?

Money lifeline? You bet

October 29, 2008

Anti-slots leader threatens to quit

The chairman of a group fighting Maryland's slot-machine referendum threatened yesterday to resign to protest "personal attacks" on Gov. Martin O'Malley made by the campaign and its political figurehead, Comptroller Peter Franchot.

October 28, 2008

Anti-gambling group to air TV ad on slots referendum

A week before Election Day, anti-gambling forces are launching their first television advertisement, hoping that a last-minute media push will help defeat a referendum to bring slot machine gambling to Maryland. The 30-second spot is to start airing today on Baltimore-area stations, said Scott Arceneaux of Marylanders United to Stop Slots. Legalizing slots will cost millions "in crime, bankruptcy and addiction," the ad's narrator says. A source with the campaign said the anti-slots group plans to spend about $200,000 on airtime between now and the election. The main pro-slots group, For Maryland For Our Future, started airing TV ads this month and has spent more than $1.5 million on radio and TV spots in the Baltimore and Washington markets.

October 28, 2008

Dan Rodricks: Slots aren't the answer to what ails the tracks

Here's what the people who run Laurel Park are willing to do to get you and me, betting customers, through the gates between now and the end of the year: half-price beers every time a randomly selected jockey wins a race on a Friday; a "special surprise" if one of us grabs the lucky rubber ducky out of the Laurel Lucky Duck Pond between 11 a.m. and noon Nov. 8; free apple or pumpkin pie to the first 5,500 fans on Thanksgiving Day; "Live Pasta Station" every Thursday in the Terrace Dining Room; free ice scraper to the first 4,000 fans Dec. 13.

October 27, 2008

Decision near on slots in the city

Just as Inner Harbor redevelopment transformed Baltimore's derelict port of rotting wharves and abandoned warehouses, Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration believes that a slot machine casino could revive a moribund industrial district while reducing city property taxes.

October 25, 2008

Slots advocates build cash lead

With less than two weeks to the election, pro-slots forces have extended their financial dominance over gambling foes, thanks largely to a $500,000 donation from a national union representing about 50,000 state and municipal workers.

October 23, 2008

Catholic group opposes slots

The Maryland Catholic Conference, which has taken a hard-line stance on social issues including abortion and gay marriage, said yesterday that it opposed slot-machine gambling in the state but encouraged its faithful to make up their own minds.

October 22, 2008

High stakes

Gambling opponents are hoping that an alliance with black churches produces an upset defeat of the slots referendum when an expected record number of African-Americans turn up at Maryland polling booths next month.

October 19, 2008

Slots no longer seen as fiscal fix

Recent economic turmoil has diminished Maryland tax collections so much that legalizing slot-machine gambling would no longer be enough to solve the state's long-term budget problems, according to new fiscal estimates.

October 15, 2008

Anti-slots group alters mistaken radio ad

An anti-slots ballot committee will modify its first radio advertisement and issue a formal retraction today after mistakenly listing a Baltimore faith-based nonprofit organization as an endorser, officials said yesterday. "We've never taken a position for or against slots," said Rob English, lead organizer for Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD). "How dare they assume what an individual organization's position is?" Scott Arceneaux, a senior adviser to Marylanders United to Stop Slots, said that the anti-slots group mistakenly assumed BUILD was a supporter because Bishop Douglas I. Miles, a pastor affiliated with the group, had appeared at one of their anti-slots events. "I've apologized to Bishop Miles and we will change the ads and we'll put out a retraction," Arceneaux said. The radio spot started airing in the Baltimore market yesterday. Arceneaux said the anti-gambling group has bought $50,000 worth of airtime this week and hopes to continue airing ads until November, with television commercials closer to Election Day.

October 14, 2008

Franchot helps raise funds for anti-slots committee

Comptroller Peter Franchot has put his money where his mouth is in the slots debate, transferring $6,000 in campaign funds to a ballot committee opposing the gambling machines in the state. He also donated $500 of his own money. But that might be the extent of the contributions. His campaign cannot transfer more money under Maryland election law, and his campaign manager, Tim Daly, said yesterday that Franchot is "not independently wealthy" and "doesn't have intentions to contribute personally in a significant way." The donations were reported to the Maryland State Board of Elections late Friday. Voters will decide the slots referendum Nov. 4.

October 11, 2008

Slots supporters have the cash to back their cause

The horse-racing industry and gambling companies have pumped $3.8 million into a campaign to convince voters to approve slot machine gambling in Maryland, according to campaign finance documents released yesterday.

October 11, 2008

Dixon supports slots

Promising that revenue from slots machines would provide a "significant and permanent reduction" in city property taxes, Mayor Sheila Dixon and other local elected officials yesterday urged city residents to vote for a November ballot measure to expand gambling in the state.

October 11, 2008

Slots referendum debate hosts pro, con leaders

Har Sinai Congregation will host a debate on the statewide slots referendum at 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the temple at 2905 Walnut Ave., Owings Mills. Fred Puddester, chairman of For Maryland For Our Future, will argue for passage of the referendum and Aaron Meisner, chairman of Stop Slots Maryland, will argue against it. Audience members will be able to ask questions. Information: 410-654-9393.

October 11, 2008

Slots union concentrates on promoting referendum

Unite Here, a union that represents workers in gambling and other service industries, plans to spend at least $10,000 on efforts to pass the statewide referendum on slot-machine gambling in November, according to a filing made with the Maryland State Board of Elections. Roxie Herbekian, associate director of the union's Mid-Atlantic region, said yesterday that the money will be spent to rent transportation and print literature for a door-to-door canvassing operation to urge voters to approve the ballot proposal legalizing slots. She also said the union might send pro-slots mailings to members. It has 4,300 members working in Maryland, including at Laurel Park race track, which is expected to seek a slots license if the ballot proposal passes.

October 10, 2008

Budget cuts tied to slots

While the state braces for budget cuts that are expected to significantly impact bread-and-butter programs such as education and public safety, leading politicians are seizing the opportunity to talk about another hot topic - slot-machine gambling.

October 8, 2008

Officials' rift central to slots contest

The animus between Comptroller Peter Franchot and Gov. Martin O'Malley is taking center stage in the Maryland slots contest, providing a lively sideshow to a years-old debate to be decided by voters next month.

October 7, 2008

Dan Rodricks: Here's one way to call the slots tossup

The last poll I saw on slots showed about 54 percent of Marylanders still supporting a state constitutional amendment allowing the gambling machines. That support was not as large as it appeared to be eight or nine months ago, which fits a theory I have: The closer we get to Election Day, the more people will think about this, and the more they think about it, the more of a tossup the outcome. It all comes down to which of the following attitudes prevail.

October 6, 2008

Arundel slots proposal divides the community

Perhaps more than in any other place in Maryland, the debate over whether to allow slot-machine gambling hits home in Anne Arundel County, where the state's largest slots parlor might be built squarely in suburbia.

October 3, 2008

Slots advocates begin TV advertising campaign

Pro-slots television ads will begin airing today on Baltimore stations, marking another escalation in a hotly contested gambling referendum on the ballot this November. Steve Kearney, a spokesman for For Maryland For Our Future, the pro-slots ballot committee, called the purchase of airtime a "significant buy" but declined to provide specifics. Polls have shown solid support for slots in Maryland, and anti-slots activists are BRACing for a multimillion-dollar onslaught of pro-slots advertising, funded by gambling interests. Voters will decide next month whether to amend the state constitution to authorize 15,000 slot machines at five locations across the state.

September 22, 2008

Slots in W. Md. could be area's ruin – or salvation

At the verdant Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort outside Cumberland, a retired nurse from Pennsylvania strolls the banks of man-made Lake Habeeb, relishing a vacation of spa treatments and boutique shopping while her husband plays the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.

September 19, 2008

Cordish Cos. may enter slots license competition

Baltimore based Cordish Cos., which has built signature projects in the Inner Harbor and casinos in Florida, might compete for a slots license in Maryland if voters approve a November referendum legalizing the gambling machines, officials said.

September 12, 2008

Highest Md. court to hear suit on slots referendum

The Maryland Court of Appeals will hear arguments Monday in a lawsuit protesting the ballot language for November's slot-machine referendum, the high court said yesterday. On Wednesday, a panel of Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judges ruled that the proposed ballot language was "misleading" but said it could be fixed by adding a single word to clarify that anticipated gambling revenues would "primarily" support state education programs. The current wording does not indicate that part of the money would go to other recipients, such as the gambling industry and the state lottery. That ruling was unsatisfactory to the plaintiffs, who are asking the court to alter the ballot language more significantly or to throw out the referendum entirely.

September 11, 2008

Slots ballot language ordered revised

A panel of Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judges ruled yesterday that the proposed ballot language for November's slot-machine referendum is "misleading" but said it could be fixed by adding a single word to clarify that state education programs are not the sole recipients of anticipated revenues.

August 31, 2008

Impact of vote on slots

As the November referendum on slots nears, Maryland voters can expect a barrage of warnings from proponents about what a "no" vote could mean: cuts to public education and health care, higher taxes and the demise of the state's horse racing legacy.

August 17, 2008

To OC, slots present threat, opportunity

The dusty harness track in Berlin, with its minor-league charm and horse-and-buggy night races, is no threat to the tourism juggernaut on the beach five miles away - and that's just how Ocean City business and political leaders want to keep it.

July 20, 2008

Wealth driving 'No' vote on slots

Stewart Bainum Jr., who fought the Maryland lottery as a state lawmaker, left politics more than two decades ago. But the multimillionaire and hotel magnate is still playing a role in the debate over gambling in Maryland - he recently cut a $10,000 check to an organization that's working to sway voters against slot machines in the November referendum.

June 28, 2008

2 sides on slots to have booths at fair

All's fair at the State Fair, the opposing sides of the slots fight agreed yesterday.

June 22, 2008

Math behind slots is open to debate

The state's November referendum on slot machines could come down to whose math voters believe

May 30, 2008

Eyeing slots help, Chuckas takes Md. Jockey Club reins

Tom Chuckas spent his first official day as the president and chief operating officer of the Maryland Jockey Club in meetings, only to emerge yesterday to questions about his vision for the sport in Maryland.

April 16, 2008

Commission: Put slots at Laurel, Ocean Downs

The Maryland Racing Commission yesterday urged the state to place slots at Laurel Park and Ocean Downs, the only two tracks eligible under legislation approved during a special General Assembly session last year.

March 18, 2008

Official focuses on bar games

Comptroller Peter Franchot is pushing for Baltimore City and Baltimore County to stop providing licenses for thousands of video gambling machines that critics allege make illegal, "under the table" payouts in area bars and restaurants.

March 16, 2008

Teachers union backs slots referendum

The state teachers union voted late Friday night to support voter approval of slot machine gambling in a November referendum, the union announced yesterday.

March 16, 2008

Lawmakers focus on slots spending

Lawmakers in Annapolis are moving to tighten up campaign reporting requirements for the November referendum on legalizing slot machines, as both sides gird for what's expected to be a free-spending battle to win voters.

March 14, 2008

Miller presses teachers for help on slots

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has told the leaders of the state's powerful teachers union that they need to support a November referendum to legalize slot machine gambling or be prepared for severe cuts in education funding.

March 13, 2008

Panel votes for ban on slots-like devices

A Senate committee voted almost unanimously yesterday to advance a bill seeking to ban slots-like video gambling machines that have proliferated throughout Maryland, setting the stage for the full Senate to take up the measure today.

March 12, 2008

Gansler issues ruling on gambling devices

Many of the electronic gambling machines that have proliferated across the state in recent months are illegal, according to an opinion released by Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's office Monday.

March 6, 2008

Electronic bingo backed by strong lobbying push

Electronic gambling machines - devices that resemble slots - have been proliferating in rural Maryland counties recently, in part because of a concerted lobbying effort by their manufacturer.

4:02 PM EST, March 4, 2008

Franchot urges ban on video gambling machines

Comptroller Peter Franchot, who has long opposed the expansion of gambling in Maryland, called on lawmakers today to approve legislation that would ban video gambling machines by next year.

March 4, 2008

Tracks balking at slots campaign

Maryland's pro-slots forces are planning an eight-month campaign for a referendum on expanded gambling that they say would fix the state's budget problems and save horse racing. But those who stand to benefit most - the state's racetrack owners - are balking at the effort and saying that they might not participate in the push for the ballot measure.

February 27, 2008

Bingo devices under threat

They look like slots, they play like slots, they pay out like slots, and they have proliferated for years under a legal loophole.

November 3, 2007

Slots plan is picked apart

Maryland lawmakers grilled aides to Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday on his plan to allow up to 15,000 slot machines at five locations, raising questions about the proposed sites, local approval and the impact on the state's two thoroughbred racetracks.

November 3, 2007

Slots lose luster at Fla. track

Gulfstream Park, South Florida's major thoroughbred horse-racing track, installed slot machines last year, rows and rows of them. And gamblers came.

October 31, 2007

City's eye on slots site

An 11-acre warehouse district south of Baltimore's sports stadiums would become the home of a new slots facility under a proposal by Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration that officials said could cut city property taxes, The Sun has learned.

October 31, 2007

Majority favor slots

Anne Arundel County residents' opinions are decidedly mixed on Gov. Martin O'Malley's tax proposals to balance the state budget, with strong majorities favoring raising taxes on businesses and high-income earners but opposing increases in the sales and car-titling taxes, according to a new survey.

October 17, 2007

A vote on slots called odd bet

Around the country, ballot measures to allow slot machines or casinos usually fail, according to experts who study the issue.