When Mike Lee heard that the Hollywood Casino Perryville was opening this morning, a few days ahead of schedule, he scratched his plans for golf and headed for the slot machines.

When the casino opened its doors to the public at 8 a.m. -- the beginning of a new chapter in Maryland gambling -- Lee was the first of about 35 people in line. "I could have played golf in the rain. This seemed a little more entertaining," said the 59-year-old retiree from Havre de Grace.

Within an hour, nearly 200 people had braved a steady rain to get a peek at the new casino, the first of the five planned in Maryland to open. The casino got a test run Saturday with a group of about 1,400 invited guests, and that event went so well that the public opening was moved up to today.