Table Games

The pro-Question 7 elements tout that bringing another casino to National Harbor and adding table games to all six would provide 12,000 jobs. Presumably some of these would be at the Baltimore site, not yet built, but what they are really talking about is National Harbor. Look at a Prince George's County map. National Harbor is on the shore of the Potomac River, directly across the river from Virginia, and a short (but not necessary quick) drive across the Wilson Bridge. It's also about two miles from Washington, and a convenient drive out of the city down I-295.

While I would gladly attend a bachelor party in Atlantic City, I would prefer not to raise my children there. However, as Maryland continues to morph into that Sin City of the East, I may not have a choice. In 2007, Maryland politicians pushed slots on us in cowardly avoidance of real solutions to revenue shortfalls. We now have not only buffets of slots but also electronic table games, with digital dealers so lifelike you swear they are flirting with you. There are no real (human)

So far this year, Maryland has been spared hurricanes and big tropical storms, but there's been a monsoon of television and radio advertising on both sides of the casino battle - approaching a cost of $50 million - to woo voters one way or the other. That's a state record, a grotesque orgy of corporate spending. Perhaps you've tuned out by now. I've been getting good at hitting the mute button whenever a Question 7 spot comes on. But on Sunday, one that I hadn't seen before caught my eye. In a commercial break during the telecast of the Ravens-Cowboys game, a man in a brown suit and tasteful tie appeared on the screen, his back to M&T Bank Stadium.

The latest argument from the proponents of a ballot question that would allow a sixth casino and table games in Maryland is a familiar one: Failing to legalize more gambling in the state will mean hundreds of millions of dollars flowing out of Maryland and into West Virginia, where the money will boost the economy and pay for schools. It was a key element of the campaign to legalize slots in Maryland four years ago, and it has intuitive appeal. If Marylanders are gambling anyway, why not have them do it here?

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake writes that a vote for Question 7 is a vote for Baltimore schools and that it will allow a world-class casino to be built on Russell Street ("Question 7 keeps the money in Md. " Oct. 11). Last I checked, Baltimore already owns that right and is really only getting table games out of this closed door deal with the big three, Gov. Martin O'Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller. She conveniently left that out. So how did Ms. Rawlings-Blake get to be part of the inside and become such a staunch gambling supporter?

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's op-ed concerning Question 7 ("Question 7 keeps money in Md.," Oct. 11) fails to mention that the reason it could, and should, fail is because our lawmakers have tied a concept the public welcomes on the ballot (table games) with an unsavory backroom decision to add another casino in Maryland. It would also lower the state's take which is already in place. I am accustomed to the state legislature having a hand in my pocket, but who in Prince George's County has the clout to hold the whole state hostage for their own interests?

MGM Resorts International has kicked in another $3 million for its effort to win passage of Maryland's gambling expansion referendum as the money meter in this duel of the casinos shot past $40 million. With MGM's newest contribution, posted at the State Board of Elections Thursday, the total contributed by the company and its allies now amounts to $22 million -- of which $17.8 million has been spent. That puts MGM and its allies -- Caesars Entertainment and Peterson Cos. -- roughly at parity with rival Penn National Gaming.

First it was the Washington Redskins management endorsing Maryland's gambling expansion referendum. Now it's one of the team's most best-known former players. Lavar Arrington, the Redskins' former star linebacker, has cut a TV ad for the MGM-backed ballot committee supporting Question 7, touting the claimed benefits for Maryland in terms of jobs and investments here. With the Redskins' FedEx Field in Prince George's County in the background, Arrington tells viewers how much he hates losing -- and that Maryland is losing the jobs and money that leave the state when its residents gamble in other states such as West Virginia.

Four years ago, Maryland voters went to the polls and overwhelmingly agreed to legalize video lottery terminal facilities in Maryland - including one at a vacant swath of land in South Baltimore. After many years of delay, that decision is finally beginning to pay dividends for our schools and other critical services, with millions of dollars in gaming revenues starting to come in to state and local governments. But we have yet to fully realize the predicted boost in tax revenues, in part because in the years since voters approved slots casinos, our neighboring states have adopted changes making Maryland's casinos uncompetitive.

The Baltimore Sun It hasn't received much attention, but there's a provision in the Maryland Dream Act, up for your approval or rejection on the November ballot, that extends a benefit to veterans. Voters ought to take note of it, because if we vote down the college tuition break for young adults who came here as undocumented immigrants, we'll be saying nay to a generous provision for men and women who served in our military, too. Says right there, in the last phrase of Question 4 on the statewide ballot: The Dream Act "extends the time in which honorably discharged veterans may qualify for in-state tuition rates.