Gambling

The outcome of last week's presidential election has vindicated the wisdom of Maryland's early decision to begin setting up a state health exchange where consumers can shop for affordable health insurance coverage. President Barack Obama's victory virtually assures that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act he signed in 2010 will go into effect as planned in 2014. Having survived constitutional challenges in the Supreme Court earlier this year and an election-year campaign pledge by GOP challenger Mitt Romney to dismantle the law if elected, states across the country must now start setting up similar exchanges or face having the federal government do it for them.

Based on estimates by the Federal Reserve, for the first time in U.S. history, student-loan debt ($867 billion) has surpassed credit card debt ($704 billion). These debt levels have real implications for productivity and lifetime earnings for this current generation of graduates. Much has been written about college students dealing with rising tuition, but there's been much less examination of how substantial student-loan debt, coupled with a slumping economy, affects new graduates. According to a June report by Drexel University's Center for Labor Markets and Policy, even as the overall job market has rebounded in the last two years, employment prospects for college graduates have declined.

[ President and Vice President of the United States (Maryland) ] 1842 of 1846 precincts reporting Barack Obama And Joe Biden (i) 61.4% 1,523,788 Mitt Romney And Paul Ryan 36.5% 904,488 Gary Johnson And James P. Gray 1.1% 27,714 Jill Stein And Cheri Honkayla 0.6% 15,547 All Write Ins 0.4% 9,465 [ U.S. Senator ] 1842 of 1846 precincts reporting Ben Cardin (i) 55.2% 1,332,380 Daniel John Bongino 26.6% 642,192 S. Rob Sobhani 16.9% 409,175 Dean Ahmad 1.2% 29,302 All Write Ins 0.1% 2,487 [ Question 1 - P.G. County Orphans' Court ]

A day after voters approved an expansion of gambling in Maryland, the state's largest casino said it would hire 1,200 new employees for table games - even as the ballot question's leading opponent suggested that it will turn to the courts. David Cordish, developer of the Maryland Live Casino at Arundel Mills, said Wednesday that his Cordish Cos. would begin the process of hiring and training the new workers - mainly dealers - immediately. He said the company would also begin purchasing table games and other equipment in order to offer alternatives to slot machines as quickly as possible.

After the most expensive political campaign in Maryland's history, proponents of a plan to expand the reach and variety of casino gambling in Maryland won a narrow victory. The measure would allow Maryland casinos to offer table games such as blackjack and roulette, and allow a casino to be built in Prince George's County. Shortly before midnight - even as the final votes were being counted - supporters of the ballot question claimed victory and set off fireworks over National Harbor, the most likely site of that casino.

Voters across Maryland reported record lines and waits of up to two hours Tuesday as a close presidential contest and several controversial state ballot questions drew people to the polls. "In all the elections I've been to, I've never seen a line this long," former congresswoman Helen Bentley said of her precinct at Dulaney High School. Maryland could become the first state in the nation to uphold gay marriage on referendum. Voters are considering another first - whether to grant in-state college tuition to certain illegal immigrants, the only time in the country the issue has been decided at the polls.

In back-to-back Baltimore news conferences Monday, Gov. Martin O'Malley made his final arguments for expanding gambling and legalizing same-sex-marriage -- two of the most contentious questions on Tuesday's ballot. The governor started with a "yes on 7" rally at the Inner Harbor, and in a twist on the John Denver classic , said: "Maryland cash, bring it back to the place where it belongs. " Supporters of expanding gambling have argued that voters should add a new casino and allow table games at all of them to entice Marylanders to gamble here rather than in surrounding states like West Virginia.

This afternoon, I received a call from someone asking if I would participate in a quick survey on an issue. I agreed, and she posed a question on the amount of revenue the gambling would generate, furnishing multiple choice responses. I replied that I had no idea. Whereupon, she gave me the "right" answer, and launched into a lecture on it. I stopped her to point out that she said this was a survey, in which she takes and tabulates my answers. She replied, "I was just giving you the right one. " When I asked what made it right, she hung up. I had not really cared one way or another on this issue, as I generally regard gambling as a tax on stupidity (State Lotto?

Four years ago, we endorsed the constitutional amendment that legalized slot machine gambling in Maryland, and we still support it. We think it would be wise for Maryland to eventually expand its gambling program to include table games like blackjack and poker, which would attract additional economic development and create more jobs. It might even be a good idea one day to allow a sixth casino in Prince George's County to take better advantage of the tourist and convention trade in nearby Washington, D.C. But we oppose Question 7, the gambling expansion measure on November's ballot, because it's a bad deal for Maryland's taxpayers.