Casino

A single winning ticket for a record Powerball lottery jackpot worth $590.5 million was sold in Florida, organizers said late Saturday, but there was no word about who won. The winning numbers from Saturday night's drawing were: 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball number of 11. The odds of winning were put at one in 175 million. The winning ticket was sold at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, a suburb of Tampa, according to the Florida Lottery. The prize tempted many Marylanders to buy tickets for the lottery game before the 11 p.m. drawing.

Last November, after months of campaigning - and millions spent on advertising for and against gambling expansion - Maryland voters decided the allure of live table games at local casinos was too enticing to ignore and Question 7 was approved by a narrow margin. On a recent Friday night, Maryland Live Casino - the state's largest and most extravagant casino, located in Hanover - appeared to be reaping the benefits of democracy. At around 9:30 p.m., the crowded and energized floor offered enough sights and sounds to keep eyes darting in all directions.

Cards started turning and dice began rolling early Thursday morning at Maryland Live, already the largest slots casino in the Mid-Atlantic. Opened just 10 months ago, the casino next to an Anne Arundel County outlet mall rakes in more money from slot machines than any other casino from New Jersey to West Virginia, including those in Atlantic City. And now it has added table games such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat, taking a big step toward becoming the Mid-Atlantic's dominant full-scale casino.

Gambling started Wednesday afternoon at the Rocky Gap Casino Resort right after the state approved the opening of its fourth casino, one that Western Maryland leaders hope will lure not only gamblers but also their families to a region eager for more tourist dollars. "It's open and jamming," said Scott Just, the general manager of the resort near Cumberland. "There's a couple hundred people in there. They were pressing up against the ropes. " The $35 million casino, located in what was the lakeside golf resort's conference center, will be open around the clock.

A casino is an entertainment business, and slots players are customers who visit to be entertained. Slots and card players know full well that the odds are against them leaving a casino with more dollars than they brought to play with. A slot player's entertainment is in the time spent playing, and that time is directly related to a casino's slot payout percentage. Casino state taxes are an expense that directly impacts operations and customer charges. Casinos in Nevada offer the longest playing slot times by providing customers with a 95 percent slot payout made possible by a 7.75 percent casino tax rate.

Maryland is getting hooked on gambling. This state's addiction to games of chance is becoming so ingrained that it's scary. Off-track betting parlors springing up. Lotto machines in over 1,000 locations. Casino gambling throughout Prince George's County. Tip jars in Western Maryland. Slots on the Eastern Shore. And the ubiquitous -- and usually illegal -- electronic poker machines in taverns and food stores.Yet senators and delegates in Annapolis are eager to close their eyes to the possible corruption and misdeeds taking place.

Hammerjacks, Baltimore's shrine to big hair, loud dresses and heavy metal, is plotting a comeback. An Anne Arundel County man has bought the trademark to sell Hammerjacks-related merchandise. And, he said he's negotiating with developers for a new branded club near the planned Baltimore slots casino off Russell Street. His plans are the second time a revival of the iconic megaclub has been attempted since it closed in 1997; a 2000 reincarnation failed to win over the original's legions of fans, which included, over the years, the likes of Bret Michaels and the classy lady pictured above.  Kevin Butler, a 47-year-old mortgage executive from Anne Arundel County, was a regular at the Howard Street location of Hammerjacks; the club originally opened in 1977 on South Charles Street, but it was the club under an Interstate 395 overpass that became iconic.

It is time to recycle this once proud and true Baltimore landmark, Harborplace ("Phillips leaving Harborplace," June11). It has served its purpose well, and with Jim Rouse's and Mayor Schaefer' vision took a once languishing passing through town and made it a destination city, attracting in some years even more people than Disney World. Now our great city is again on the decline, it is aging, and but for the Grand Prix, it is boring. So it is time once again to leverage our unique harbor assets to bring Baltimore out of the desert to soar once again.

More than 1,500 people came to the Perryville Outlet Center to apply for jobs at the Hollywood Casino Perryville Thursday, according to a spokesman. The Cecil Co. casino, one of the first gaming facilities scheduled to open in Maryland after slots were approved, is expected to open in late fall. About 350 people are expected to be hired in positions such as gaming, food and beverage, security and accounting as well as human resources. Hollywood representatives met with candidates during the job fair to offer more information about available positions.

The Washington Redskins football team endorsed a yes vote in the ultra-expensive gambling expansion referendum heading for the Maryland ballot this fall, contending the measure will bring thousands of jobs to Prince George's County. The NFL team, which trains in Northern Virginia but plays its home games in Prince George's, said it was joining a coalition of businesses that support Question 7, which would permit a casino in the county and allow table games at Maryland's current and planned slots parlors.

Maryland's fourth casino - the Rocky Gap Casino Resort - hopes to open its doors for gambling this week. The casino, which held a controlled demonstration on Monday, is awaiting final approval from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control agency. The opening could come as soon as Wednesday or Thursday. Located off Interstate 68 near Cumberland, it will be the state's smallest casino. Evitts Resort, a subsidiary of Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment, plans to operate 558 slot machines plus 10 table games at the casino.

A pair of Baltimore residents filed suit Monday accusing the city of breaking the law by allowing toxic chemicals to leach into the Patapsco River from the South Baltimore site where a casino is now under construction. The lawsuit is the second to raise environmental concerns about development of the Horseshoe casino on Russell Street. It contends that the city's deal with CBAC Gaming, a coalition led by Caeser's Entertainment, exposes city taxpayers to having to pay for cleaning up contamination from the site.

Although Maryland has handed out five casino operating licenses, the state is entering uncharted territory with the allocation of its sixth. For the first time, there's real competition. Three serious operators submitted bids to run a casino in Prince George's County, making the choice more competitive than the selections for other jurisdictions. "We're going to have to figure out how we do a fair evaluation," said Donald Fry, chairman of the state commission that will select the winner.

Moving to Maryland has been a learning experience for Chad Barnhill, general manager of the Horseshoe Baltimore Casino that will fill the sweeping vacant lot currently greeting drivers coming into the city on Russell Street. At home within the walls of a casino - he's worked for Caesars Entertainment since graduating from college in 1994 - this is the first time he's overseen the building of a new facility. When he's not meeting with city officials regarding building permits, he's addressing neighborhood associations concerned about what plopping a casino near their houses might mean.

Two more bidders emerged Friday to compete against MGM National Harbor for the right to build a casino in Prince George's County. Penn National Gaming submitted a proposal to the state's gaming control agency for a $700-million Hollywood Casino Resort at its Rosecroft Raceway site. And Maryland Casino LLC, a subsidiary of Greenwood Racing Inc., bid to build an $800 million Parx Casino Hotel & Spa in Fort Washington. MGM National Harbor dropped off its own proposal — outlined in 13 boxes of materials — Thursday for an expected $800-million project.

Two more bidders emerged Friday — one a surprise — to compete against MGM Resorts International for the right to build a casino in Prince George's County, which stands with the state to reap millions of dollars from the project. Penn National Gaming, which operates the Hollywood Casino brand, and Greenwood Racing Inc., which owns Pennsylvania's most successful casino, submitted proposals to Maryland's gaming agency by the 2 p.m. deadline. The winner is expected to be chosen by the end of the year by the Maryland Video Lottery Facility Location Commission, which will review the proposals.

Gwyn Eppard of Baltimore said the tip-off that something was fishy came when the woman caller purporting to represent the campaign of Del. Sandy Rosenberg didn't know the lawmaker's party but launched into a pitch for a casino in Prince George's County. "That made me kind of suspicious," she said.  Rosenberg, a Northwest Baltimore Democrat, said the call did not come from his campaign. "I certainly did not authorize anybody to call on my behalf," he said. "I certainly don't pay money to solicitors to pay people.

As spending on Maryland's gambling expansion nears the $50 million mark, The Sun is introducing a new feature to its Maryland Politics page: the Casino Spend-o-Meter. The interactive graphic will allow devotees of Maryland political excess to track at a glance the amount of money being shoveled out the door by the ballot committees on either side of Question 7, which would allow a new Prince George's County casino and permit table games there and at other Maryland casinos. The referendum pits two casino-backed groups against each other: FOR Maryland Jobs and Schools vs. Get the Facts: Vote No on 7. The "for" side is financed mostly by MGM Resorts International, the prospective operator of a "destination resort" casino at National Harbor.

The course is "Introduction to Casino Gambling," but upon entering the classroom, one might be tempted to place a bet at the roulette wheel, the craps table or any of the other table game layouts. As he stared at the roulette wheel, Christopher Lamb of Elkridge, a student who has taken one week of the Anne Arundel Community College course, could scarcely contain his excitement at the thought of working in a casino. "It is an amazing game, just on gambling and chance, and who knows where the ball is going to land?

Baltimore will hire a recruitment coordinator to look for city residents who can help fill the 1,700 jobs expected to be created by the construction and operation of the new casino. The city's Board of Estimates authorized the temporary position Wednesday. It will pay up to $60,000, plus benefits, for 12 months of work. The position is being funded by the casino operators, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the agreement with the casino, expected to open next year along Russell Street near the stadiums, represents a "commitment to make local residents aware of and give them access to the casino's jobs.