Slots Still Annapolis's Hottest Game
After Years of Debate, Legalizing the Machines Remains an Emotional Issue

By John Wagner and Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, November 3, 2007

Supporters and opponents of slot machine gambling clashed yesterday at dueling rallies and during a lengthy hearing, as a special legislative session called by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) to fix Maryland's budget lumbered toward its second week.

For close to five hours, lawmakers listened to arguments that have become painfully familiar during a debate that has consumed Annapolis for years.

Supporters said slots are necessary for Maryland's storied horse-racing industry to survive when neighboring states use gambling proceeds to subsidize racing purses.

"We are getting crushed now by the competition," Alan Foreman of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association told lawmakers. "If nothing is done . . . the racing industry in this state will collapse."

But opponents decried the potential social ills they say are associated with slots, including gambling addiction, increased crime and prostitution.

"Are you sure you want to make Maryland more like Nevada?" asked Gordon Bell, a retired probation agent from Montgomery County who related the case of a gambling addict he once supervised who committed suicide, making his father "insane with grief."

Legislation being pushed by O'Malley seeks to legalize slots at five locations, eventually yielding close to $650 million a year for the state and more than $75 milion for the racing industry, according to legislative analysts. Administration officials have provided somewhat higher revenue projections.

The slots plan, which O'Malley has proposed putting to voters in a referendum next year, is the most controversial part of his revenue package to address a budget shortfall next year of more than $1.5 billion. Other O'Malley initiatives include raising the sales tax and overhauling the state's income tax brackets.

As a week of hearings on his proposals drew to a close, O'Malley appeared at a news conference with the legislature's two Democratic leaders in a bid to show unity. "I think we are all moving together toward a common goal," O'Malley said, thanking lawmakers for their work this week.

Both chambers plan committee meetings over the weekend, and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said he hopes to put some of O'Malley's bills on the floor for votes by early next week. Legislative aides said the House is likely to put off floor action on most measures until the bills clear the Senate.

"Some of the votes are going to be close, and some of his bills are going to be modified more than he's going to appreciate," Miller said.

O'Malley's legislation envisions slots parlors at locations in Baltimore and in Allegany, Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester counties. Two racetracks -- Laurel Park in Anne Arundel and Ocean Downs in Worcester -- would be eligible for but not guaranteed licenses.

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.