Slots plan up in air after House actions

Gov. Martin O?Malley scrambled Thursday to salvage a foundering slot-machine proposal that is a key part of his revenue-raising plan. House leaders determined they had only enough votes to pass his slots referendum, but not enough to pass the bill saying how slots would operate and where their money would go.

O?Malley skipped an address to the state press association in order to shuttle between meetings with Democratic legislators to figure out a solution. The governor avoided talking to reporters; his bodyguards kept them at a distance as he left the meetings.