Casino

Construction can proceed on a casino planned for Baltimore after a Circuit Court judge threw out on Thursday an attempt by opponents to halt the development. A group of environmental advocates and neighborhood residents filed suit last month to delay the issuing of building permits for the planned Horseshoe Baltimore Casino, alleging the city and state improperly approved an inadequate cleanup of industrial contamination at the site near Westport. Earlier this week, another judge approved a temporary order blocking construction when attorneys representing the neighborhood said work had begun on the site despite the lawsuit.

Lawyers for Baltimore say a group of Westport residents seeking an injunction to stop construction of the Horseshoe Casino along Russell Street have no legal standing and are being used by a shadowy organization more concerned with delaying the facility opening than environmental factors. In a response filed Tuesday, city solicitors Matthew W. Nayden and Daniel J. Sparaco dismissed the group's claim that the city and the Maryland Department of the Environment colluded to allow CBAC Gaming to avoid following protocol for publicly discussing and planning cleanup of the site.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge ordered a halt Monday to construction work on the city's planned casino until a hearing Friday on a lawsuit by Westport residents alleging that the city and state improperly approved an inadequate cleanup of industrial contamination at the site. Judge Yolanda Tanner issued a temporary restraining against CBAC Gaming, the city and the Maryland Department of the Environment after lawyers for the Westport residents complained that work had begun on the Horseshoe Casino, despite assurances last week from the casino owner's lawyer that it would not engage in any construction activity before the scheduled hearing.

Many were off work because of a snowstorm that never came, so they went to Hollywood Casino, tucked off Interstate 95, in search of games they thought they'd never see here: blackjack, roulette, craps and poker. For the first time Wednesday and about four months after voters approved it, Marylanders played table games without leaving the state. About 35 people were waiting when Hollywood sent out a small team of dealers to begin table play about 2 p.m., immediately after the Penn National-owned casino in Cecil County received permission from the state.

Maryland Live brought in more than $38.3 million in revenue in February - a new record by $2 million - despite a shortened month and the temporary removal of 700 video lottery terminals to accommodate table games. In all, Maryland's casinos brought in $47.8 million, the second-highest amount since last July, which was Maryland Live's first full month of operations. All but $15.8 million of the money brought in by casinos went back to the state. Hollywood Casino in Perryville generated a little less than $6 million, representing a drop of 48 percent year-over-year.

Chad Barnhill, the general manager of the Horseshoe Casino that will be constructed along Russell Street, is in Cincinnati today to observe a sort of soft opening (the Cincinnati newspaper is live blogging the event ) for the Horseshoe Casino there that will open its doors Monday. Though Barnhill knows the Horseshoe brand well, having served as general manager for the one located in the City of Bossier City ( which is the official name, according to the website which lists among its top news items the fact that the city pool is accepting applications to be a lifeguard this summer )

The company that spent $42 million in a failed attempt to block expanded gambling in Maryland will be the first to introduce table games in the state. Hollywood Casino, owned by Penn National, got preliminary permission Tuesday to operate 20 table games starting March 7 at the facility in Perryville, in Cecil County. Maryland Live, the state's largest casino, plans to offer table games April 11. Crews are working to move thousands of slot machines as the floor is reconfigured to accommodate 122 table games.

Baltimore's Urban Design & Architecture Review Panel gave approval Thursday to a revised design for the casino scheduled to be built near where Russell Street enters the heart of the city. The latest renderings show a modern-design building made of a golden-hued stone. In the new images, a garage that sits behind the casino - and therefore can be seen from Interstates 95 and 395 - has been redesigned to appear less bulky and more horizontal. It is also shown sitting within a robust grove of trees.

Six Baltimore residents financed by an environmental group sued the owner of Baltimore's yet-to-be-built casino, the city and the state, alleging that they colluded to skirt rules governing the study and cleanup of "highly contaminated properties" near their neighborhood. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Baltimore Circuit Court, seeks an injunction to delay the issuing of building permits for the Horseshoe Casino until further study of the land and public discussion of a proposal for making it safe are completed.

Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort, which will become the state's fourth operating casino when it opens later this year, will hold a job fair Saturday, Feb. 23 to fill about 250 full- and part-time jobs. The fair will be held at Allegany College of Maryland's Cumberland Campus in the Continuing Education Building and runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Human resources representatives from the hotel will be looking for candidates in many areas of the operation, including food service and casino gaming.