Arundel May Set Fate of Md. Slots

County Council Divided Over Site Next to Mall

After years of debate, thousands of hours of public testimony, a statewide referendum and campaigns by two governors, this is where the effort to bring slot machines to Maryland now finds itself: stuck in the Anne Arundel County Council chambers.

The council's seven members are split over what to do, ambivalent about putting a gambling parlor -- with the largest number of slots in Maryland -- next door to a busy family-oriented outlet shopping mall.

Their decision, which might come in days, could largely determine the immediate future of slots in Maryland, including how much money the state and county can expect to receive as plans for gaming get underway.

Like so many things that have gone wrong with the slots effort in the past few months -- the shortage of bids, the invalidated bids, the general decline in the gambling industry -- the snag in Anne Arundel was not expected.

Many opponents have mobilized only in recent weeks, after it became clear that the slots would not go to Laurel Park because track owners failed to pay their initial licensing fee. Instead, the only remaining proposal in Anne Arundel is to install slots next to Arundel Mills mall, visited daily by tens of thousands of teenagers and families.

Although the county's approval was once viewed as only a small hurdle, the council is now divided, with three members for the proposal, two opposed and two undecided. If that were not drama enough, one supporter just underwent neck surgery, so his appearance at Thursday's public hearing and the next week's vote is not guaranteed.

"To have the budget of the state in the hands of a local county councilman is kind of scary," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), who, like the rest of the state political leadership, has been forced to watch from the sidelines.

Council members said state officials are pressuring them to approve the bid, with behind-the-scenes intimations that future state funding to the county could be at risk.

Baltimore-based Cordish, which wants to build the slots facility next to the mall, has hired Paul Schurick, communications director for former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) and now a private communications consultant, to help make its case.

Cathleen Marie Vitale (R-Severna Park) and Daryl Jones (D-Severn) are the two undecided council members.

"I don't like that it's an all-or-nothing game right now with Anne Arundel right in the middle," Vitale said. "It's an economic issue, but it's an emotional issue, too, for the residents it affects."

"I'm not fundamentally opposed to slots," said Jones, whose district includes the mall. "My main concern is the location and impact on the community."