The approval Wednesday of the first slot machine gambling license in Maryland is more than just an important milestone in the long-running debate about gambling in the state. The grant of a license for Ocean Downs is also the first promising sign we've seen in more than a year for the state's coffers. A temporary facility with as many as 800 machines could be running in time for next summer's tourist season in Ocean City. That may not make much of a dent in a $2 billion budget shortfall, but it helps.
The Ocean City facility has also been blissfully free of the ethical, financial and political problems that have stymied slots development elsewhere in Maryland. The Ocean Downs site is being built by William M. Rickman Jr. of Montgomery County, who has experience in operating a successful racetrack-casino in Delaware, and he has gotten the approval of local elected officials.
It's hard to say how big a boost the first legal slots will provide. Initial estimates projected the full 15,000 machines authorized statewide would eventually produce about $600 million a year in tax revenue. That's $40,000 per machine. It's unclear in this economy whether Ocean Downs could come close to that level. And Mr. Rickman's plans for the site call for it to eventually grow to 1,500 machines, not the full 2,500 authorized for Worcester County.
