Posted by Phil Lee (216.250.238.181) on June 27, 2001 at 22:14:
Pressure Revives Slots as an Issue in Maryland
By Daniel LeDuc
Washington Post Staff Writer
Originally Published Tuesday, March 13, 2001; Page B01
Nearly 40 years ago, Maryland Sen. Thomas M. Middleton's father took the money from the wheat harvest from his Charles County farm and played slot machines until all the money was gone.
It was only through the generosity of friends and family that the Middletons were able to pay their property taxes that season and keep their farm. The elder Middleton, now dead, became a leading advocate against slot machines and helped the 1968 campaign that prohibited them in Maryland. Now his son is a Democratic senator from Charles County and a member of a new committee studying the possibility of expanded gambling.
Middleton, however, already knows where he stands: "I'm dead set against it. I hate gambling."
The 13-member committee, which met last week in Annapolis, runs the spectrum from Middleton and co-Chairman Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), who also dislikes gambling, to supporters of bringing slot machines to Maryland. But more importantly, the committee's formation has sparked new talk about whether legalized gambling is looming in Maryland.
Advocates say a possible economic downturn and increasing pressure for new spending on education make more gambling revenue hard to resist. That means expanded gaming could become a big issue in next year's elections for governor and the legislature. Already, Annapolis lobbyists are trying to sniff out business among major casino corporations, though those companies are taking a wait-and-see approach.
Over the next year, the Senate gaming committee plans to to travel throughout the state visiting horse racing tracks, off-track betting parlors, Western Maryland taverns where customers play tip jars and anywhere else legal gaming is going on.
The work is in preparation for what many expect will be a renewed campaign to expand legalized gaming once Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D), a strong gambling opponent, leaves office at the end of next year.
"The next governor, even if they're against it, may not be adamantly against it," said Senate Majority Leader Clarence W. Blount (D-Baltimore), who serves on the gaming committee. Expanded gambling is inevitable, he said.
Glendening has been firm in his opposition to expanded gambling, repeating a mantra of "No slots. No casinos. No exceptions." The current leader in the undeclared race for the Democratic nomination for governor is Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. Asked last week whether she planned to continue the administration's opposition, she said, "Yes." But she has yet to make a declarative statement that she opposes expanded gambling.
Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), who also is weighing a bid for governor, said he opposes expanded gambling in Maryland.
The governor, who got a commitment from the owners of Pimlico not to seek slot machines in exchange for state money to refurbish the track, has played tough on the issue. He has rebuffed any effort to legalize slot machines and politically punished anyone who has tried. But some legislators believe that whoever succeeds Glendening will be tested early by gambling advocates.
And many lawmakers and legislative observers believe that expanded gambling will become a significant issue in next year's governor's race.
"I think it's an issue because I think the candidates are going to parry it," said Sen. Michael J. Collins (D-Baltimore County), co-chairman of the gaming committee.
"There's going to be an effort by the candidates to leave the door open because it is a serious revenue source. A candidate would want to leave the door open just a tiny crack even if they don't like it because they might have their backs against the wall and need the revenue."
The need for new revenue in the coming years was why Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Prince George's) said he created the committee. Miller is loath to raise taxes and said if the economy takes a downturn, the pressure for more money from gambling will be inevitable.
While he has heard that Townsend and others oppose expanded gambling, Miller said, "You never say never."
Miller himself has not been a strong proponent of gambling. House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. (D-Allegany) has supported slot machines, especially in Western Maryland, where he said they would help economic development.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Howard P. Rawlings (D-Baltimore) also supports expanded gambling, including slot machines at Pimlico and other locations. He said he wants the money gambled by Maryland residents at Dover Downs in Delaware and other nearby states to stay in Maryland.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars are leaving the state," Rawlings said.
He has proposed putting the idea of legalized slot machines to voters, but Miller said the Senate will not consider the legislation this year.
Still, advocates of expanded gaming have plenty of allies in the Senate, including influential Finance Committee Chairman Thomas L. Bromwell (D-Baltimore). He said slot machines are needed to keep Maryland's horse racing tracks thriving.
Maryland is neighbored by two gambling states: West Virginia and Delaware have slot machines; Virginia and Pennsylvania do not.
William Rickman, who owns Dover Downs, said about 20 percent of the slots players at his track come from Maryland. Rickman, who is seeking permission to build a track in Western Maryland, said he is not seeking slot machines at his Maryland properties.
"I will never support slots or any form of gambling coming to Maryland," Rickman said. But he also predicted that "if it becomes an issue, you're going to see a feeding frenzy of everybody trying to get involved."