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Slots Still Annapolis's Hottest Game
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. told a pro-slots rally, "We're going to make it happen. . . . We're going to get it done."
(By James M. Thresher -- The Washington Post)
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William M. Rickman Jr., a Montgomery County resident who owns Ocean Downs, warned that the 30 percent share of slots proceeds that the bill allows operators to keep could make it hard to provide the same quality of slots parlors as in surrounding states, where the split is more favorable to owners.
"I think it's going to be tough to compete, and I think you need to know that," Rickman said. "We, on the other hand, want to not look greedy."
Before the hearings, advocates on both sides of the issue held spirited rallies.
Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) gathered with a couple of dozen slots opponents. "The tide is turning in our favor and the forces of evil are on the defensive," Franchot said. He called legalizing slot machines a "sleazy, predatory, corrupt, regressive tax on poor people."
Meanwhile, several hundred people working in the horse-racing industry rallied in support of O'Malley's slots bill.
"I know what racing means to Maryland," Miller said at the event. "We're going to make it happen. . . . We're going to get it done."
Environmentalists also testified yesterday before a House committee considering legislation that would levy a fee on development to establish a dedicated, $85 million-a-year funding source to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
"The bill provides a tremendous opportunity for the Chesapeake Bay restoration," said Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson, one of several O'Malley administration officials to testify.
Miller unveiled a competing Senate bill yesterday to establish a trust fund to restore the bay and its tributaries. He said he would consider allocating as much as $50 million from other taxes to fund the initiative.
