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

"The bells and whistles, the lights, the music, the symbols are all just marketing," said Bereano, the lobbyist for Frank Moran and Sons, which has 80 machines in St. Mary's. "These are not slot machines."

In 2001, the state's highest court recognized such a distinction, holding that video bingo machines at the Rod 'N' Reel restaurant in Calvert County were not slot machines because they did not rely on "the element of chance." Calvert is one of the few jurisdictions in Maryland that allows, under certain circumstances, for-profit companies to operate such machines.

Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D-St. Mary's), an opponent of legalized slot machines, introduced legislation this month that would require Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D) to go to court to decide whether the video bingo devices in St. Mary's are legal. Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles) said he is drafting legislation to eliminate the machines.

Gaming issues have a particular resonance in Southern Maryland, home to an area once known as "Little Nevada." In 1949, the region became one of a handful of places in the country where commercial gambling was legal. Hordes of tourists flocked to the neon lights of Waldorf along the Route 301 commercial strip.

County budgets were soon heavily dependent on gambling dollars, but the machines were a magnet for organized crime. After a fierce debate that lasted years, slots were outlawed by 1968.

The line of cars waiting to turn into the St. Mary's Landing parking lot on a recent Friday night reminded Robert Fard, 63, of the out-of-towners who flocked to the area in the 1960s.

"If a man's going to gamble, he's going to gamble," said Fard, a Hughesville resident who plays the lottery every week but stays away from the video gaming machines. "At least now the money's staying in the county."

Staff writer Christy Goodman contributed to this report.