Many in Maryland think slot machine gambling is a good idea. As long as slots are far away from where they live.
The appeal of slots is easy to understand. For people who despise taxes, gambling is the easy way out. For people who understand the need for government spending on schools, infrastructure, and public health and safety, slots are a logical way, along with taxes and fees, to raise necessary funds. And many people enjoy playing slots. They think it would be great not to have to drive an hour to play in Delaware or West Virginia.
Opposition to slots runs deep. Many people who think seriously about such things understand that the social costs of slot machines are horrible. Slots are said to be the most addictive form of gambling. Crime, drugs and prostitution seem to be associated with gambling. The consequences of slots are personal misery, financial ruin, desperation, divorce, and general decay of culture and society. It’s easy to see why few people want slots in their neighborhood.
Gov. Martin O’Malley has drawn a politically savvy map for slots in Maryland. The slots bill passed by the House of Delegates a couple of years ago seemed rigged to fail. It called for slots casinos in Frederick County and Harford County, two of many jurisdictions that are opposed to gambling in their backyards.
O’Malley’s slots proposal looks as if it is designed to pass muster with the General Assembly in the special session that starts Monday. It may be as geographically correct as a bill calling for 15,000 slot machines in Maryland can be. It would raise serious money. It is ambitious enough to win the support of State Senate President Mike Miller. It allows for the final decision to be made by the people in a referendum, a concession to House Speaker Mike Busch. And a referendum has overwhelming popular support. As reported by The Washington Post, O’Malley’s proposal calls for slots at five locations.
First, three sites along the I-95 corridor:
- Laurel Park (4,250 machines) at the racetrack, located between I-95 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at Route 198. This would be the largest site, almost exactly halfway between Washington and Baltimore. Technically, that’s Anne Arundel County. It’s about a stone’s throw from southeast Howard County and the northern point of Prince George’s County, and maybe 10 minutes from eastern Montgomery County.
- Southern Baltimore City (3,500 machines) near I-95 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
- Cecil County (2,500 machines) off I-95 in the northeast corner of the state.
And also two sites at the eastern and western corners of the state:
- Ocean Downs racetrack (3,250 machines) off U.S. 50 between Ocean City and Berlin. For the record, that’s Worcester County.
- Rocky Gap (1,500 machines) off I-68 east of Cumberland. For the record, that’s Allegany County.
A map of Maryland is spread out on my kitchen table. The siting of the casinos appears to hold harmless large swaths of Central Maryland, Southern Maryland, and most of the Eastern Shore. Casinos are concentrated along the I-95 corridor, but also scattered to three distant corners of the state. The money-making potential is obvious. It’s hard to imagine any traveler along the East Coast’s major highway from Florida to New England getting through Maryland without making a restroom stop at a Maryland casino. They’ll have three chances.
The big Baltimore and Laurel Park casinos will be within a short drive of the millions living in the the Baltimore-Washington metropolis. Between I-95 travelers and local residents, these two sites would appear to be slot-machine gold mines.
Now the bad news. The Baltimore and Laurel Park sites are centrally situated to spread misery throughout the region. They will be in everyone’s back yards. Montgomery County, Prince Georges, Howard, Anne Arundel, Baltimore County and Baltimore City. If you think the misery and costs of slots will far outweigh the revenue, you’ve got to be suspicious of this contract with the devil. Just my opinion. –Bernie Hayden
Ocean City Blog 
Posted on October 27, 2007
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