Speaking of Slots . . .

[Bertha Venation]

Where do you (or did you, now that it's dead again) stand? Please post your county as well as your opinion.

I'm in Charles County, and I'm against them. I don't like the thought of raking money off the poor saps who drop coins as prayers for a break in their lives.

[deutsey]

1. Talbot; against

[bruce21040]

23. anne arundle for

as long as it is not anywhere around my house or town.

[Burma Jones]

2. Montgomery: For

If they're kept at the race tracks. If the "poor saps" are at the track anyway, they're intent on gambling.

The race tracks are hurting because Delaware and West Virginia allow slots at race tracks and are drawing gamblers away from Maryland.

[Bertha Venation]

3. will the legislation as proposed

keep slots at the tracks (if it's revived again)?

[sus]

4. cecil: indifferent

i've gone back and forth on this issue. if they pass it, they should stay at the tracks. (I believe Mayor O'Malley has said he'd support that, too.)

i'm too wound up over the voting machines fiasco in maryland to spend much time worrying about slots.

[Bertha Venation]

8. Hi, Sus!

LynneSin's told us all about 'cha, y'know . . . :hi:

And I agree re: the voting machines. I'm too angry about that . . .

[sus]

9. Hi Bertha!

Thanks for the welcome.

[Bertha Venation]

10. check the fridge . . .

I hear tell there's a kitten in there. ;)

[Mr. Brown of MD]

5. No, they want off track sites as well

I don't remember where they all were; it's varied in different proposals. But most of them seem to want off-track sites as well as on-track sites.

I am in Baltimore County and I'm against slots in general. So I've been glad to see them fought off the last two sessions.

But even so, I think they should just put it up for referendum. Then the people could speak. Of course, Ehrlich doesn't want a referendum because he knows it'll prove his supposed "mandate" is bullshit once and for all and he'll look like a moron for the rest of his term... though, he'll look like that in the eyes of most DUers including myself, anyway.

The proposal for a referendum that I saw would have two layers to it:

1. a majority of Marylanders vote 'Yes' to allow slots;
2. even if a majority vote 'Yes', only jurisdictions that have a majority voting 'Yes' would have slots permitted.

I've got a sneaking suspicion it would fail statewide, but even if it didn't, at least it would be certain that only where it was voted for would there be slots.

-CollegeDude
Hanging out in the 11th

[Burma Jones]

6. I would see no hope for passing unless it did

Montgomery County seems to support slots just so long as they are kept in PG and Baltimore, i.e. the tracks - typical - and I grew up here.... I suppose there's more than a few developers that would LOOOOVE to see gambling up by Deep Creek Lake.

[aintitfunny]

7. Baltimore County

Ambivelent. Not really an issue with me. Cannot find a good reason to be against it when the state already has lotter and OTB, etc. Conversely I have concerns about the impact on traffic and neighborhoods. Reality is money that could be spent here is going to WV and DE. Gamblers gamble, whether it is legal or not. If they don't have a slots palace to visit, the corner bar with the poker machine works just as well.

I do not think that we need to make the track owners rich. If we do have slots the state should reap the biggest benefits.

[deutsey]

11. Peter Franchot's statement

Slots are Dead. Let it Go.

Annapolis; April 12, 2004

The following is a statement from Delegate Peter Franchot (D-20) concerning today’s defeat of slots legislation:

“For the second consecutive April, the centerpiece of Governor Robert L. Ehrlich’s legislative agenda – a plan to turn the state of Maryland into a gambling mecca – rests in pieces. Once seen as a “done deal” by the smart money around Annapolis, Governor Ehrlich’s neon-tinted, windowless vision of Maryland crashed unceremoniously on Monday, as legislators who were thrilled to offer up Oxon Hill and Baltimore City to the gambling lobby have flinched at the possibility they may land in Timonium and Aberdeen. Despite this record of futility, most are speculating that Governor Ehrlich, his pro-slots allies in the legislature, and his gallery of well-heeled gambling lobbyists will be back next year for yet another run.

In the meantime, the State is facing a structural budget deficit that will soon exceed $1 billion. We leave Annapolis without a serious plan to meet fundamental public obligations such as education, law enforcement and health care. Despite the Governor’s persistence, it appears remote that the third time will be the charm for the gambling crowd, and his refusal to consider alternative revenue sources means that Maryland will continue to race closer to financial calamity.

It is with this troubling possibility in mind that I call upon Governor Ehrlich – and for that matter, Senate President Miller and others who have fought so hard to legalize slots over the past two years – to let it go. Recognize that the fight for slots is fundamentally divisive, destined for failure, and will only consume our time and attention at the expense of more serious business.

It is time that true leaders in both parties walk away from the past, wipe the slate clean, and take responsible steps to put Maryland’s fiscal house in order. With the exception of slots, everything – including unpopular tax increases and painful spending cuts – must be put on the table. Governor Ehrlich and every legislator in Annapolis was sent here to do the right thing for our constituents, and to leave behind a better state for our children and future constituents. For two years, we have failed miserably in that obligation, focusing instead on cheap fixes that would destroy families and communities across our state.

It is not too late to step up and meet the obligations of our leadership. In the wake of two years of true embarrassment, I ask Governor Ehrlich, Senate President Miller, Speaker Busch and all of my colleagues to make this next year one of true greatness for our institutions, and for all Marylanders.

Before that can happen, however, we must all acknowledge that “SLOTS ARE DEAD, and agree to LET IT GO.”

###

[displacedtexan]

12. Baltimore City

Against.

[Ricdude]

13. Anne Arundel, depends on the details

Keep them at the tracks, or *very* limited off track locations, no problem. As best I can tell the only reason for slots in Maryland is to keep money here from going to Dover Downs. We already have "gambling", but it would be nice to keep new developments down that road to a minimum.

While we're at it, some of the proceeds should benefit a gambling treatment program. State contributions to Gamblers Anonymous in the form of advertisements and PSAs at a minimum, state-run programs at the most.

[MadinMD]

14. Baltimore City

For Slots. I think one state delegate had a great idea. Referrendum. Any district where it passess gets slots, however they want them, any district where it does not pass does not get slots.

Personally, I want slots. It's preferable to a one cent sales tax hike, which is crazily regressive and mandatory. If we have slots, we've got money coming in from people who are willingly putting it into the machines.


ANd really, I've been on trips to the UK and there are slot machines EVERYWHERE. They're in every bar, every small restuarant, everywhere. Last time I checked, the UK isn't exactly drowing in crime from these things.

[newyawker99]

16. Hi MadinMD!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[LibertyLover]

15. Anne Arundel

If slots were kept just at the race tracks I would probably be for them. But I would prefer that the question be put on the ballot.

[Romulus]

17. Montgomery - FOR

the prior "FOR" posters described my position for me

[sbj405]

18. PG; pretty much against

I guess if they are kept at the tracks, I wouldn't be too opposed. Though one of the proposed sites was near the Greenbelt Metro, which in addition to being in my backyard, happens to be wetlands.

[MiddleRiverRefugee]

21. PG County/against/Hey sjb405!

Old Greenbelt here. The Keno zombies are bad enough at R'velt Center.

[Bambistew]

28. Come on... wetlands?

Do you really think they would be allowed to build on wetlands? I develop for a living, and will tell you that impacting wetlands in MD is next to impossible... the site may be near wetlands but is not "in" them. MD has some of the strictest regulations regarding water and waste water in the nation...

I'm all for the slots, if Speaker Bush would get the chip off his shoulder and let it go to a vote we'd have slots here. Why let the money go out of state? It's senseless. The issue keeps getting tossed out because riders keep getting slapped on them... Just let the people vote on it and get it done. If I remember right I there was a poll in the Sun and something like over 60% voted yes for the slots...

[newyawker99]

29. Hi Bambistew!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[DavidMS]

19. I am not against slots (or gambling)

but I want any gambling opperations to be localy owned (owner should live upstairs) and opperated. I have no problem with it as long as large gambling opperatiors are kept out, the mob is kept out and local communities concent via refrumdum.

Thankfully gambling in Maryland is dead in its current form. I don't like the idea of inviting large casino opperations in from out of state.

[yellowcanine]

20. P.G. County Against - and imo, Goodhair Guv AirLick has been

really two-faced on this issue. What is the deal with promising your supporters that they won't have slots in their counties but proposing them for the two jurisdictions in the state that voted against you (P.G. and Baltimore City) and then having the balls to claim that your election was a "mandate" for slots? Bullshit.

[undergroundpanther]

22. Harford Co. against

Wasn't the lotto money supposed to go to "help fund schools" too? Wasn't lotto approved for Maryland under the pretense that the money would go to help poor people, education and the like? Let me know If I am wrong.I think I remember some of the debate over the proposal for a state lottery here. Does anyone else remember it? This slots stuff is like deja vu to me,The same old saw,help the schools,and all but end up not helping anybody but the rich..
How did it all the lotto proceeds get sent to the sports authority while Baltimore schools and the social safety nets went to hell?
You bet the slots profits will line some rich boys pockets and fund their dilettante 'projects'that help no one..before it will EVER be used to help the poor here.

[Lefty Pragmatist]

30. Lotto revenue is used for education is many places.

This provides useful political cover when people question it ("hey, you aren't for cutting school funding, are you?!"). I'm not particularly for or against Lotto, but it's a Trojan Horse argument.

[arwalden]

24. Prince George's County... I'm In FAVOR Of Slots

I'm in favor of full-fledged CASINOS.

-- Allen

[Zuni]

25. Anne Arundel, for

I see no harm in allowing people to do what they do anyway. If they don't go to Delaware, or play lotto or Keno, they probably won't waste their money on slots either.

I see no reason to ban gambling, as long as it is confined to certain areas and not allowed to spread into residential neighborhoods.

[blueraven95]

26. Baltimore City; Against

I'm against them for many of the reasons already listed above.

Honestly, I spend a fair amount of time at the racetracks because I work for one of the entertainment companies that the DeFrancises contract with, and I really think that there are better options than slots. If they would put the millions they spend each year on a dead issue into other ways to revitalize horse racing than I know they could make a big difference. My boss and I came up with at least 50 different viable crowd drawing events within half an hour.

I guess, though, that I think we should put the whole thing to referendum...at least that way it would be really finished.

One note...isn't it interesting that many of the people who are for the slots are NIMBYs

[Zuni]

27. I agree, Horses trump slots

but I feel that people who really want slots will just go to Delaware, or play Keno all night in bars. Why not let them do what they want closer to home?

[Lefty Pragmatist]

31. Hurray for NIMBYs.

I'm way beyond NIMBY. I'm verging on BANANA. But while I'm not going to force anybody to host slots, I'm also not going to tell a given community they can't have them. I am against them being in my town, though (not that it would happen -- we have all of 800 residents, and while they're about 70/30 Republican, it just isn't going to happen).

River casinos and power plants (we're right on the Potomac) are much bigger issues to me.

[Cozmosis]

32. Baltimore County

For them. Just losing out to PA and DE otherwise.

[undergroundpanther]

33. Slots

Target the poor,if slots are allowed to be everywhere ..They will appeal to the desperate,the poor the hopeless,the addicted to gambling. For these people are whom spend their money when they gamble.Did you know when rich people go to casinos they wire a large amount of money but do not waste it much,They just impress with it..because casinos hoping the rich will spend,they give them free show passes,free food, coupons,complimentary gifts,etc,because the casino sees the rich bastard just dumped ten thousand in the casino account to throw away.So they court and woo that customer into playing,but that customer knows the game they take the compliments and gamble very little..It's the Average folks with a little hope and even more desperation they are what keeps the always stacked against you casino /slots industry alive.