Sun coverage: Slot machines in Md. -- -- baltimoresun.com

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. More

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. More

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. More

The Sun Poll: Gambling

Most would legalize slots

Ten months before Maryland voters will decide whether to legalize slot machines, a strong majority is in favor of expanding gambling across the state, a new Sun poll found. More

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. More

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. More

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. More

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. More

'2 Mikes' at center of budget battle

Just a few months ago at a bill-signing in Annapolis, Gov. Martin O'Malley stood between Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch and held up their hands, saying it "felt good" to work together. More

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. More

O'Malley betting on slots

Reviving one of the most hotly debated issues in Annapolis, Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that he will push for legalized slot machine gambling as a way to close Maryland's $1.7 billion budget gap, help the state's struggling horse industry and preserve open space. More

OTB in Solomons gets early look

The Maryland Racing Commission learned yesterday that the Maryland Jockey Club is working on a proposal for a new simulcast betting facility at a restaurant in Solomons in Calvert County. More

Ocean City says slots are threat to town

Maryland's beach resort is sending a clear message: "No slots in Md. Period." More

Report makes case for Md. slots

The O'Malley administration released a report yesterday that concludes slot machines are necessary to protect Maryland's racing industry, giving the strongest indication yet that the governor intends to make expanded gambling part of his plan to close a projected $1.5 billion budget gap. More

Slots fail to keep bettors at track

Eleven years after Delaware allowed slot machines at its racetracks, the purses horses compete for are higher than ever and the races more competitive. The grandstand at Delaware Park is spotless, the restaurants are new and the parking (for a mere $3) is valet. More

Purses, races cut at ailing Md. tracks

With revenues plummeting, the Maryland Jockey Club will cut $3 million from its budget this fall, reducing the purse $2,000 in every race for the rest of the year and trimming the number of races at Laurel Park through Dec. 31. More

Slot machine opponents brace for fight with state leaders

Members of a Maryland coalition against slot machine gambling are girding themselves for their toughest fight yet - a potential battle with Democratic state leaders weighing all solutions to the state's looming $1.5 billion budget shortfall. More

Slots measure still has the look of a loser

The joke for a while on the campaign trail was that Maryland voters who didn't want slot machines had two choices for governor: Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan, who opposed them, and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., whose repeated attempts to legalize them routinely ended in failure. More

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