Revenue

With all the screaming and scandal and nonsense over a possible casino at National Harbor, has no one asked how many casinos we need here in Maryland ("Baltimore casino names manager," Sept. 26)? Once upon a time this nation produced products that could be sold for profit and the generation of tax dollars. Today, while politicians allow the steel industry in Maryland and across America to die, they fall all over themselves building casinos that generate no products and rely on income earned in other lines of work.

Your headline on the Jan. 3 letter, "Columbia Association official says club is a solid investment," seems like an eerie echo from the past. This rosy prediction for CA's high-end fitness club recalls the myth CA staff  were promulgating 20-some years ago about the Fairway Hills Golf Course. That's Fairway Hills, as in the golf course that, since its opening in FY'96, has lost money every year, for a total of $8,637,000. This is a far cry from what CA staff projected when they sought $5.2 million from the CA Board to develop Fairway Hills.

I fully agree with your Oct. 25 editorial that Marylanders should vote down Question 7 on expanding gambling in Maryland, but I would add two reasons the otherwise on-target editorial ignored or paid insufficient attention to: First, major revenues from the proposed National Harbor site of a new casino would go out-of-state (with, as you correctly noted, major corporate tax breaks as well not only there but to corporate owners at other gaming sites...

Revenue from the state's two casinos dipped to $12.2 million in November, down from $12.9 million in October, the Maryland Lottery reported Monday. The bigger of the two slots parlors, Hollywood Casino Perryville, brought in $9.1 million last month. On a year-over-year basis, November's revenue jumped nearly 20 percent, up from $7.6 million in November 2010. The Casino at Ocean Downs in Worcester County, which opened in January, generated $3.1 million in November. Almost 50 percent of revenue — which represents sales after winners are paid — goes to the state's Education Trust Fund.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake defended the city's nearly $20 million in revenue from its booming speed camera program Wednesday, placing the blame on motorists who refuse to slow down. "It's a minor inconvenience for people who routinely break the law," the mayor said of the $40 speeding tickets triggered by the city's 83 cameras. She spoke after the city's spending board received documents showing a multimillion-dollar increase from the cameras. The city got $19.2 million in revenue from the program over the past year - a nearly tenfold increase in the three years the cameras have been operating.

Times Mirror Co. reported these financial figures yesterday:Three months ended 9/29/91.. .. .. .. Revenue.. .. .. ..Net.. .. .. .. ..Share'91.. .. .897,228,000.. ..40,972,000.. .. .. ..0.32'90.. .. 894,980,000.. ..41,865,000.. .. .. ..0.33% change.. .. +0.3.. .. .. .. 2.1.. .. .. .. .. .3.0Nine months ended 9/29/91.. .. .. .. Revenue.. .. .. . Net.. .. .. .. . Share'91.. ..2,641,824,000.. ..94,978,000.. .. .. .0.74'90.. ..2,676,747,000.. .134,863,000.. .. .. ..1.05% change.. .. ..-1.3.. .. .. ..29.

Environmental Elements Corp. announced first-quarter net income yesterday of $221,000, up 6.8 percent from the $207,000 reported for the first quarter of 1998. Earnings per diluted share remained unchanged at 3 cents in the three months that ended June 30.The Baltimore-based provider of air pollution control systems said it had revenue in the quarter of $11.8 million, down 40 percent from $16.5 million posted for the corresponding period a year ago.Ted Verdery, chairman and chief executive officer, said although revenue declined, "the work we are doing has a higher premium for the customer and earns a higher profit."

Celera Genomics Group said yesterday that its fiscal third-quarter loss widened to $49.5 million despite increased revenue, largely because of charges. The Rockville-based company reported a per-share loss of 72 cents for the period ended March 31. Revenue was $30.5 million, an increase of more than 30 percent from the $23.4 million reported for the comparable period last year. The results compare with a loss of $29.1 million, or 48 cents a share last year. Excluding one-time charges related to Celera's Paracel business of gene-sorting hardware and software, the loss for the quarter ended March 31 was $28.5 million, or 42 cents a share.

It's bad news/good news/bad news time about the area's top businesses, courtesy of the Washington/Baltimore Regional Association:In 1990, the number of publicly held companies in the region fell slightly, according to a new report from W/BRA. That's the bad news.The good news is that the smaller number of companies -- 161, compared with 163 in 1989 -- generated more revenue in 1990: $179.9 billion, vs. $100.9 billion the year before.But the bad news is that very little of that increase came from existing companies.

ANNAPOLIS -- An unexpected plunge in revenue for Maryland's cash-starved Transportation Trust Fund could force the state to suspend all new road and transit construction for the next 15 months, the state transportation secretary said yesterday.And Secretary O. James Lighthizer said the budget squeeze could also lead to the loss of from $150 million to $420 million in federal interstate highway money.At a news conference yesterday morning, Mr. Lighthizer blamed the revenue slump on a sharp drop in fees, particularly titling taxes, because of faltering auto sales amid the recession.