A major national gambling company is exploring a bid to operate a slot machine casino at Laurel Park, officials said this week, as uncertainty mounts over a contentious proposal to erect a mega-casino at Arundel Mills mall.
"We have been having some early discussion" with potential partners, said D. Eric Schippers, a spokesman for Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Pa., near Reading.
He said the company's interest was fueled by reports that the Anne Arundel County Council was deadlocked on a zoning bill needed for the mall-side casino and entertainment resort proposed by Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos.
Penn National owns West Virginia's Charles Town Races and Slots. The racino, popular with Marylanders, would face competition from the proposed Cordish casino just 60 miles away.
Last night, the Arundel council debated and adopted an amendment to the zoning bill that would place further restrictions on a casino's minimum number of parking spaces. Council Chairman Edward R. Reilly, a Republican, said the council will take up the bill next month.
Just weeks ago, the prospects of slots at Laurel Park seemed moribund, and David Cordish's visions of a 4,750-machine slots emporium at a major regional mall all but certain.
A competing bid by Laurel's owner for slots at the track was tossed out in February for failure to pay millions in required application fees. Magna Entertainment Corp., the owner, filed for bankruptcy in March and put Laurel and its other Maryland racing assets up for sale.
But residents near Arundel Mills have rallied to fight the casino, saying slots would bring increases in traffic and crime. The zoning bill, proposed by County Executive John R. Leopold, a Republican, remains in limbo before a sharply divided council.
Cordish officials said they remained "very optimistic" that zoning legislation - which would also be needed for slots at Laurel - would pass. Company officials have been working to reassure mall neighbors that the casino would not bring gridlock to nearby communities.
The mall "already enjoys 14 million visitors a year and has the infrastructure in place to accommodate additional commercial development," said Joseph Weinberg, a Cordish partner, in an e-mail. "Arundel Mills has less impact on residential areas, roads and the environment than any other site in the county, including Laurel Race Track."
