A Boom in Bar Bingo Machines Raises Legal Questions in S.Md.

For years, the Brass Rail was little more than a sleepy sports bar, a popular destination for locals in St. Mary's County and pretty much no one else.

Today, it is a mini-Las Vegas. Video gaming machines line the bar's wood-paneled rooms, bathing the Brass Rail in a colorful glow and drawing a new set of patrons, some of whom don't even buy drinks.

Video bingo devices, which bear a striking resemblance to slot machines, have suddenly appeared in bars and restaurants across the county, to the dismay of some state lawmakers. The number has gone from about 150 to nearly a thousand in the past month, according to Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron (R), who considers them within the law.

Slot machines are illegal in Maryland, and voters will decide in a referendum in November whether to allow them at certain locations, with the state taking a cut of the proceeds. But even as Marylanders consider whether to embrace legalized gambling, a related form of gaming is spreading in St. Mary's, driven by an odd coupling of business interests and nonprofit organizations.

"These things, whatever they are, have just popped up everywhere," said Francis J. "Jack" Russell (D-At Large), president of the Board of County Commissioners. "Nobody knows what to do. Everyone wants to treat this like a football, make someone else deal with it."

Unlike most counties in the state, St. Mary's permits "gaming devices" if the proceeds go to a nonprofit organization. By law, the company that owns the machine can take a cut to cover expenses, as can the bar or restaurant where it is located.

The Brass Rail began installing the machines in August, and other business owners took notice. The floodgates opened late last year, when Del. John F. Wood Jr. (D-St. Mary's) asked the state attorney general's office for legal guidance at the request of venue owners, nonprofit groups and concerned residents, none of whom he would identify in an interview. Wood said he was told that the machines are legal under the county's gaming law, written in 1968.

"I just tell them, 'Don't lock yourself into something that you can't get out of quick, and don't fund something in the long term with this money, because we don't know how long they will be around,' " Wood said.

Among the nonprofit organizations operating the machines are Little Flower School, St. Mary's Nursing Center, Rotary and Lions clubs, several volunteer fire departments and three Catholic parishes.

Some state lawmakers oppose the machines, including Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Calvert), a leading supporter of legalized slot machines. Miller called them "clearly illegal."

"It's sad because they say they are for nonprofits -- and a little bit off the top goes to charities -- but most of that money floats up to private hands and is not kept in St. Mary's County," Miller said. "They are reaping thousands, and the state gets no part of that."

Several bar or restaurant owners contacted for this story, including at the Brass Rail, did not return messages or declined to detail the arrangements.