Table Games

Table games at Maryland Live Casino generated $8.4 million in revenue in their first month at the Anne Arundel County facility, on top of $38.2 million from its slot machines, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Monday. While overall revenue at Maryland Live was up $1.95 million in April from March, revenue from slots fell about $6.45 million in April from the month before. By far the largest of Maryland's casinos, Maryland Live operates 4,217 slot machines and 122 table games.

Revenue at the state's casinos climbed to nearly $69.2 million in May, the first full month of table games at Maryland Live Casino as well as the initial days of the state's newest casino in Allegany County, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Wednesday. Revenue at Maryland Live in Anne Arundel County, which celebrates its one-year anniversary Thursday, totaled $55 million in May for its 4,319 slot machines and 122 table games. The latter were introduced April 11, and officials accurately predicted they would raise the facility's revenues by more than 20 percent.

Revenue at the state's casinos climbed to nearly $69.2 million in May, the first full month of table games at Maryland Live Casino as well as the initial days of the state's newest casino in Allegany County, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Wednesday. Revenue at Maryland Live in Anne Arundel County, which celebrates its one-year anniversary Thursday, totaled $55 million in May for its 4,319 slot machines and 122 table games. The latter were introduced April 11, and officials accurately predicted they would raise the facility's revenues by more than 20 percent.

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.

It's unwise that the General Assembly will be considering the expansion of Maryland's gambling program to a sixth casino before its five existing slots parlors is up and running. But the idea of legalizing Internet gambling at the same time - with little opportunity for public debate or due diligence by legislators, and no precedent from other states - is downright reckless. Internet gambling may be the future of the industry, but that future is not yet upon us, and there are too many unanswered questions - legal, logistical and social - for the state to make a headlong rush to legalize it. The idea first surfaced in a serious way this week in a memo from Maryland Live developer David Cordish about the conditions under which he could drop his opposition to the proposed sixth casino inPrince George's County.

This casino and resort offers hotel accommodations with more than 300 rooms, event packages and discounts for special occasions, many dining options, venues to enjoy live music and drinks, new games and old favorites and the Shoppes of Sands. Casino hours: 24 hours a day. Games to play: Along with poker, blackjack, craps and roulette, Sands has many other table games, including mini and midi baccarat, sic bo and pai gow tiles. A 30-table poker room is also provided.

All this debate over a special session for Maryland's legislature seems pointless ("A special mistake," July 26). Evidently, today I can go to the Maryland Live casino at Arundel Mills and play the exact same games that this session is supposed to "legalize. " The operators there have installed machines that provide the exact same probabilities of winning in the exact same manner as any Vegas casino. There are just no humans, and no chips. (They said so themselves in an e-mail response to me: "The payouts on our electronic table games are based upon true Vegas odds.

Maryland Senate President Mike "Boss" Miller has now extended the bounds of his seemingly boundless manipulation of Maryland by holding a special session of the General Assembly needed to pass a budget hostage to his lust for table games inPrince George's County("Leaders float the idea of two special sessions," April 25). If the two-session compromise goes into effect, the second session should be held at that fount of political influence, Atlantic City. This will make a great movie someday; one only hopes that John Goodman will be available to play the Boss.

The state's legislative leaders said Tuesday that the General Assembly could soon back an expansion of Maryland's gambling options to include games such as poker, blackjack and roulette. While just two of the state's five planned slot machine parlors have opened — groundbreaking for a third, at Arundel Mills mall, is scheduled for Thursday — officials have long discussed the prospect of table games, which are legal in neighboring states. Such an expansion would require the approval of Maryland voters.

Voting "Yes" on Question 7 to legalize table games such as poker in a few well-chosen casinos will be doing a favor for all residents of Maryland. Gov. Martin O'Malley has promised publicly on television that tax proceeds from such games will be spent to improve education in Maryland - a promise he must keep or ruin his political career. Heavy advertising which opposes Question 7 is financed not by those interested in the quality of Maryland schools, but from casinos in neighboring states that want all the money for themselves.

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.

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.

Once again, Gov. Martin O'Malley, House Speaker Michael E. Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller pull the wool over the eyes of Marylanders ("The state busts," May 8). What a great deal tables games are for the casino operators, while the Education Trust Fund receives the "table scraps. " How many Democrats does it take to screw Marylanders? Three. Earl Walter Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

In November, voters approved a major expansion of Maryland's gambling program on the promise that allowing table games and eventually building a sixth casino would ensure that the gambling dollars state residents spend would go toward funding education here and not in states like West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania. This week, we got the first preliminary snapshot of how that bargain is working out, and it should give us some pause. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission reported its first set of figures since the Maryland Live Casino in Anne Arundel County added table games.

Table games at Maryland Live Casino generated $8.4 million in revenue in their first month at the Anne Arundel County facility, on top of $38.2 million from its slot machines, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Monday. While overall revenue at Maryland Live was up $1.95 million in April from March, revenue from slots fell about $6.45 million in April from the month before. By far the largest of Maryland's casinos, Maryland Live operates 4,217 slot machines and 122 table games.

The Rocky Gap Casino Resort hopes to open its doors for gaming in three weeks. In the meantime, the resort said today it's holding an open house this Saturday to offer customers - and the merely curious - a glimpse of the resort's upgrades The open house, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will allow the resort to show off its new hotel lobby and room renovations. Guests will be permitted to sign up for a loyalty program that will offer players points for frequent play on slots or table games.

There has been a lot of media attention recently to Maryland's continued efforts to balance the state budget by raising current taxes or adding new ones. Perhaps the solution is in our backyard. With just two Maryland casinos open and plans to build more, The Sun recently reported state revenue from slot machines of $13 million for January totaling over $90 million for Maryland's fiscal year to date. If table games (blackjack, roulette, etc.) are added, there's a potential bonanza of new revenue available as Maryland dollars are kept in Maryland as opposed to going to our neighbors in Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and even Atlantic City, N.J. The key is how to distribute those revenues.

First, we would like to thank The Sun for getting it right by pointing out that the opposition's ads against Question 7 are "indeed being financed by an out-of-state casino company that doesn't have Maryland taxpayers' interests at heart" ("A misleading pitch," Sept. 7). But second, The Sun has unfortunately gotten several facts wrong in its recent editorial. The facts about job creation from Question 7 - the expansion of gaming in Maryland - are these: Adding table games at Maryland's existing casinos will create roughly 1,600 jobs statewide.

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.

The state's largest casino plans to open 122 table games to the public at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Maryland Live, in Hanover, will become the second of the state's three operating casinos to take advantage of expanded gambling laws passed by voters in November. Hollywood Casino in Perryville began operating 20 table games March 6 and brought in nearly $1.5 million from them last month. Officials from the state's lottery and gaming agency watched a controlled demonstration of the table game operations Friday, and were scheduled to spend more time at the facility through Tuesday night.