Competing Maryland casino developers are trading jabs as lawmakers try to sort out whether it’s in the state’s best interest to approve an expansion of gambling.
A commission of state lawmakers, as well as members of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration, held their first meeting to hear testimony from developers and gambling businesses as they study legislation that would authorize table games at all Maryland casino sites and possibly allow a sixth state casino, to be located in Prince George’s County.
Any provision passed by the General Assembly also must be approved by voters in a statewide referendum.
Supporters of a Prince George’s County casino say a facility at National Harbor, located in a prime location along the Potomac River near Virginia and the District, would increase the state’s gambling revenues — most of which go to Maryland’s Education Trust Fund — while having minimal impact on sites that already have been approved by state officials.
National Harbor developer Milt Peterson dismissed the notion that a casino on the Potomac River would share a market with competing casinos in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore.
A facility there would be a national destination for tourists and gamblers alike, unlike Maryland Live!, the casino scheduled to open Wednesday at Arundel Mills Mall.
“Arundel Mills is Arundel Mills. Its closest neighbor is the Burlington Coat Factory. The Burlington Coat Factory has some very fine merchandise, I guess,” Peterson said. “It certainly isn’t a resort.”
Officials for the Cordish Cos., developers of Maryland Live!, said a sixth casino in Prince George’s would mean a 40 percent hit to their gross slots revenues. A planned casino in Baltimore also would suffer, losing roughly 25 percent of its revenue, according to David Cordish.
And a Prince George’s casino, located so close to Virginia and the District, could spur competition from states angry at Maryland for poaching business on their borders, according to Joe Weinberg, president of gaming and resorts for the Cordish Cos.
“It’s very akin to NATO placing nuclear missiles on Russia’s border,” Weinberg said.
Lawmakers are still awaiting a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is studying projected state gambling revenues to compare a variety of scenarios that could expand gambling in Maryland.
“That’s something we’re going to have to look at as a committee and see what’s in the best interest of the state,” said Del. Frank Turner, D-Howard County.
The commission is scheduled to meet again on June 12.
