Maryland voters approved 15,000 slot machines at five sites more than a year ago. Many probably expected to be gambling by now.
But fans of the one-armed bandits still have to wait about nine months for the first parlor to open, as the process has slowed to a crawl. The promise of hundreds of millions in annual revenue, especially important as the state faces $1 billion-plus shortfalls, has yet to materialize.
Three casino bids, each approved by the Maryland Slots Commission, are moving forward, albeit slowly.
The first, off Interstate 95 in Cecil County, is expected to open in October. The town, Perryville, is about 90 miles north of D.C.
The casino at Ocean Downs race track in Worcester County, originally scheduled to open in May, is plagued by construction delays. Work there has stopped, and there’s no word when it will restart.
The third, at Arundel Mills mall in Anne Arundel County, won approval by the commission Dec. 7. Developer David Cordish, president of PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC, paid an initial license fee of $28.5 million and pledged to invest $243 million in the property.
But the 4,750-slot Arundel Mills location, despite the backing of county commissioners, could be the subject of another voter referendum sought by the group Stop Slots at Arundel Mills Mall. The organization is expected to circulate a petition demanding that voters have the final say on slots at the mall.
A bid to build a casino in downtown Baltimore was rejected last month.
