Gambling In Maryland

Gambling is BIG business in this state. Yet much of wha goes on isn't regulated. Law enforcement agencies are often helpless to do anything about suspicious situations involving tens of millions in cash generated by this gambling mania.Look at the situation in Prince George's County. Only weeks ago, the Internal Revenue Service raided three casinos there suspected of falsifying their financial statements. Three other casino fund-raising establishments are also under active investigation by the IRS. In one case, a casino group reported XTC receipts of $800,000 over 18 months.

On June 24, 2011, a middle-aged Harford County woman drove to the Hollywood Casino in Perryville to give authorities permission to arrest her for trespassing if she ever set foot again in one of Maryland's casinos. Before she signed the paperwork she wanted one last taste and lost hundreds of dollars at slot machines. "I considered it my last hurrah. That I was going to gamble and then I was going to sign myself out," said the 50-year-old woman, before a recent Gamblers Anonymous meeting at Mountain Christian Church in Joppa.

The Annapolis city council, which postponed a debate on a resolution condemning casino gambling in Maryland at its last meeting, will take up the matter tonight at City Hall.The resolution, sponsored by Alderman Louise Hammond, urges the state legislature to block the establishment of casino gambling in Maryland. The issue is expected to come up next month when the General Assembly begins its 90-day session.Last month, a state task force urged the governor and state legislators not to permit casinos in Maryland.

A letter to Governor O'Malley: When you first assumed office, you made it clear that you favored bringing slot gambling back to Maryland as a way to raise revenue for the state. Many citizens were against legalizing this exploitive activity which has historically been associated with crime. Yet when the General Assembly refused to go on record as being for or against the measure, it went to referendum as Question 2 on the ballot in 2008 and passed. Then many individuals in Anne Arundel County voted for the measure, assuming that a slot casino would not really affect them and that it might keep taxes lower, an idea which you and others strongly promoted.

OTHER POLITICIANS may need to weigh both public opinion and the siren songs of well-paid lobbyists before taking a stand on casinos. Not the Republican caucus in the House of Delegates. Credit these lawmakers with the courage of their convictions. They agreed this week to vote as a bloc in opposition to casino gambling in Maryland.Predictably, lobbyists called the decision "premature" and, shamefully, some Democratic officials joined in the criticism. But what is there to wait for if, like these delegates, you think the principles at stake in the question of casino gambling are more important than glittering promises of fool's gold.

IN THE long-standing debate over whether gambling casinos should be permitted in Maryland, The Sun has consistently argued that communities which tolerate casinos will experience a marked decline in their quality of life and the creation of a new population of compulsive gamblers. In Maryland, invariably the latter argument involves citing a 1990 study purporting to demonstrate the dangers and costs of ''compulsive gambling in Maryland.''That study, invoked by The Sun in its Oct. 1 editorial, ''An apple in the Garden of Eden'' is cited as evidence that the introduction of gambling would mean the creation of tens of thousands of ''compulsive gamblers.

That headlined question is one a blue-ribbon task force led by former Sen. Joseph D. Tydings must answer in its examination of the pros and cons of casino gambling in Maryland. By late this year, we should have the task force's final decision.It will be watched carefully. Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who chose five of the nine members (the others he selected are Bob Embry of the Abell Foundation; Ted Lewis of St. Mary's College; Ben Brown, the former city solicitor, and Hagerstown banker William Reuter)

A nine-member task force, with a majority of its members appointed by the governor, wouldbe asked to study the future of legalized casino gambling in Maryland under a bill approved by a House committee last night.The proposed Joint Executive-Legislative Task Force to Study Commercial Gaming would be made up of two state senators, two delegates and five public members appointed by Gov. Parris N. Glendening in consultation with the Senate president and House speaker. The governor also would designate the chairman.

HOW do editorialists in other parts of Maryland feel about the legalization of casino gambling? Here's one opinion, from the July 26 edition of the Montgomery Journal:"The state is heading down a road to future problems if lawmakers open the door to casino gambling in Maryland. We worry that average people are not going to make their anti-gambling views known during the three remaining state hearings being held on the issue."Lawmakers and the governor, absent the views of voters and ordinary families, could be left with the impression that the primary opposition to casino gambling comes from existing entertainment and tourism businesses, thoroughbred racing representatives and restaurateurs who worry casinos will cut into their revenues.

Joseph D. Tydings, ex-U.S. senator, ex-U.S. attorney, yesterday returned to public service. He is leading a blue-ribbon task force studying casino gambling in Maryland. The group's decisions could prove pivotal in determining the fate of expanded gambling in this state.Under normal circumstances, this should be an enormous and ambitious undertaking. Turning Maryland into a mecca for casinos and slot-machine venues cannot be undertaken without thorough and thoughtful study and analysis. The implications are immense.

There are two major reasons to expand state gaming. One is the irrefutable evidence that Maryland is bleeding more than $400 million annually as our residents travel across state lines to gamble. The other is that most Marylanders simply want it. To that end, in creating a responsible gaming policy, we need to consider six factors: First, as disposable income is fixed, increased gambling by Marylanders will offset state sales tax revenue by a respective amount. For example, if Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposal to increase the sales tax to 6 percent passes, the state's take on slots revenue - about 4 percent - means Maryland loses money by converting in-state sales transactions to slots revenue.

Inside the air-conditioned clubhouse of Pimlico Race Course yesterday afternoon, Michael Cammarata stood among a crowd of mostly older men, all staring up at a sea of television sets showing simulcast horse races from across the country. When Philadelphia Park's fifth race began with the typical "And they're off!" from an announcer, Cammarata shouted taunts at the televised images of horses he didn't like and pumped his fist in the air when More Influence, the horse he had bet on to win, crossed the finish line ahead of all others.

The battle over legalized gambling in Maryland is at a high-water mark this year, say many of the participants in the debate. "It's kind of like a comet going across the horizon," said Del. Michael E. Busch, the Maryland House speaker whose opposition threatens to thwart the governor's push for slot machines to produce revenue for the state. "It burns very brightly and starts to dim out. Obviously, I think they had more momentum last year." Significant and contentious issues are typically taken up in a governor's second term.

PORT DEPOSIT -- A group of developers unveiled details last night of their plans to build a retirement community, hotel, residential housing, offices and other businesses at the site of a closed naval training center in Cecil County. Developers estimated the project at the former Bainbridge Naval Training Center will cost $500 million to $750 million to build, and provide nonconstruc- tion jobs for as many as 7,000 people. The politically connected development group that is pursuing the project includes Baltimore's John Paterakis, a bakery and hotel owner who is a proponent of allowing casino gambling in Maryland.

For nearly two years, various interest groups have been pushing with little success for the legalization of some form of casino-style gambling in Maryland.And for almost as long, others have been advocating a cut in state income taxes.Finally, this week, the two issues came together in an unusual high-stakes linkage that threatens to dominate the remaining 2 1/2 months of the General Assembly's 90-day session.With Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller leading the charge, several key senators and delegates say they are willing to push for legislation that would combine a cut in the income tax with legalization of slot machines at the state's horse tracks.

The Glendening administration may be opposed to slot machines in Maryland, but that hasn't kept the state from helping Delaware promote its slots.For the past few weeks, ads for slot machines at the Dover Downs horse track have been prominently displayed on 90 Maryland Mass Transit Administration buses serving the Baltimore area."

Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who opened the door to slot machine gambling on the Eastern Shore when he took office seven years ago, now is looking for a way to shut it a bit before his final term is over.Mr. Schaefer appointed a 17-member task force yesterday to study all forms of gambling in Maryland and to recommend in just two months whether anything needs to be done.John J. Mitchell, a retired Montgomery County circuit judge whom Mr. Schaefer picked to chair the task force, said he has yet to discuss the issue with the governor.

The Glendening administration may be opposed to slot machines in Maryland, but that hasn't kept the state from helping Delaware promote its slots.For the past few weeks, ads for slot machines at the Dover Downs horse track have been prominently displayed on 90 Maryland Mass Transit Administration buses serving the Baltimore area."

CUMBERLAND -- Slot machine gambling is against the law in most parts of Maryland, but you would never know it here.Throughout Allegany County, bars, restaurants and fraternal clubs feature video poker machines that produce cash payouts for lucky players. The machines bear signs "For Amusement Only," but everyone knows that winners can collect their money -- anywhere from $10 to $300 or more -- at the bar.Such illegal electronic gambling is not unique to the county and can be found in many spots across the state.

The Annapolis city council, which postponed a debate on a resolution condemning casino gambling in Maryland at its last meeting, will take up the matter tonight at City Hall.The resolution, sponsored by Alderman Louise Hammond, urges the state legislature to block the establishment of casino gambling in Maryland. The issue is expected to come up next month when the General Assembly begins its 90-day session.Last month, a state task force urged the governor and state legislators not to permit casinos in Maryland.