The mood was triumphant among top casino executives, slot manufacturers and horse-racing interests at a conference at Dover Downs in Delaware, two days after the Nov. 5 elections.
This had nothing to do with political ideology. The door to casino-style gambling at racetracks had just opened in Maryland and Pennsylvania with the election of pro-slots governors. Massachusetts, Kentucky and Ohio could be next.
"The question isn't if gaming will expand, but how much and how quickly," exulted Don Snyder, president of Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming.
It probably can't happen quickly enough to satisfy slot supporters in Maryland who were practically giddy over Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s election as governor .
During his campaign, Ehrlich made slots the centerpiece of his plan for tackling the $1.8 billion budget deficit the state faces over the next two years.
Ehrlich is pressing for slots to be approved by the General Assembly during the upcoming session and his spokesman said slots could be in operation by early 2004.
But before racing off to open the door to slots, Ehrlich and key legislators who support legalizing the machines would do well to consider the experience of other states and prepare Marylanders for what is coming.
Ehrlich and other slots supporters have so far studiously avoided using the "C" word - as in "casinos" - but that is exactly what the state will be getting if slots are authorized at four racetracks.
For example, consider Charles Town Races and Slots in West Virginia's eastern panhandle. The once-practically derelict track now glistens with 2,500 slot machines and plans to add 1,000 next year. The huge facility has all the trappings of a Las Vegas-type casino - down to cocktail waitresses in skimpy outfits serving free drinks for patrons to help empty their pockets.
Last year, slots generated $81.3 million in gross revenue for the Charles Town track's owners, compared with $7.8 million from horse races. The figures come from tabulations made after the paying of winnings to bettors and gaming taxes to the state.
The Dover Downs harness track in Delaware, where slot operations are managed by Las Vegas-based Caesars World, offers a more upscale version. Its facilities include a recently built hotel with luxury accommodations, a concert hall, ballroom and gourmet restaurant.
