The debate over bringing casino-style slot machines to Maryland could use more clear thinking on the true impact of gaming in a community. Anti-slots activists have played up misconceptions about gaming and its community impact, hoping to defeat the slots referendum this November. Meanwhile, slots proponents explain their cause almost entirely in terms of public revenue to be gained from slot taxes - especially for public education - via the 67 percent tax rate that Maryland's system would feature.
While slots casinos in Maryland would bring in much-needed revenue, the casinos also have the potential to offer economic rejuvenation to parts of the state that could really use it. While the Atlantic City model is often derided in Maryland, the casinos there did bring many jobs and opportunities to the region where little opportunity existed before. (The newly prosperous parts of Atlantic County and lively, redeveloped areas of Atlantic City are often not observed by casino visitors.) Many casino jobs pay better than jobs in other businesses. And the multiplier effect of the industry produced one to two jobs in other sectors for every casino position.
While the scale of the Maryland properties would be smaller than an average Atlantic City casino, a facility with 3,000 slot machines would likely require more than 1,000 full-time employees. They would also likely add as many or more jobs around the casino to provide services to the property and for the casino employees needing services in their communities. Many of these jobs require professional skills and pay accordingly in fields such as accounting, security, information technology, restaurant management, legal services, marketing, community relations and human resources. The property taxes alone would bring in millions of dollars annually to the counties where the slots casinos are located.
Certainly, Atlantic City still has problems; the casinos were not a panacea for urban poverty. But southern New Jersey's experience demonstrated that the casino industry can be a positive and productive force, especially if allowed to strategize, invest and promote itself according to marketplace conditions.
Maryland is the wealthiest state in the nation, as measured by median household income. Yet its wealth is not evenly distributed. Somerset, Dorchester, Garrett and Allegany counties (among others) and pockets of Baltimore city have not benefited much from the state's overall prosperity.
