Maryland lawmakers are set to return to Annapolis on Thursday to vote on an expansion of gambling that Gov. Martin O’Malley said he hopes will end a debate he has grown tired of.
The governor has drafted legislation that would, among many measures, allow a sixth state casino for Prince George’s County, authorize table games such as blackjack and roulette, and adjust the share of slots revenues between casino operators and the state.
“I am so sick of this issue, I just want to get it behind us,” O’Malley told reporters Wednesday morning. “This is not so much about what we want, it’s about what we need to get behind us.”
| The proposed gambling bill |
| Gov. Martin O’Malley’s legislation would create several changes in Maryland’s new gambling market, including: |
| • Allow a 3,000-slot casino in Prince George’s County, if a majority of voters statewide and a majority of Prince George’s voters approve the measure. |
| • Allow the Prince George’s casino to open no sooner than July 1, 2016, or 30 months after a Baltimore City casino opens. |
| • Authorize table games at all existing casinos sites and a temporary Prince George’s site with a 20 percent tax rate — 5 percent for local jurisdictions and 15 percent for the state’s Education Trust Fund. |
| • Allow casinos to stay open 24 hours a day. |
| • Give casinos in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore an additional 5 percent of slots revenues, which could only be spent on marketing and promotional efforts to keep the casinos competitive, once a Prince George’s casino opens. |
| • Authorize the gambling commission to increase operator revenues at Anne Arundel and Baltimore an additional 5 percent if a casino is struggling. |
Lawmakers expect to be in session for roughly a week. The Senate is expected to take up the bill in committee Thursday afternoon.
O’Malley’s call for a special session has drawn support from some lawmakers in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, hoping for a share of the roughly $100 million in additional revenues the legislation could generate for the state’s schools. The governor’s office also has touted the 2,200 jobs the legislation would create.
Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker estimates a casino at National Harbor, where developers Peterson Cos. and MGM Resorts International have proposed spending as much as $800 million on a resort casino, could bring the county $69 million annually.
Developers of a casino in Baltimore, which last week received approval to build a $310 million slots parlor, said the bill meets their efforts to build the best casino possible — it includes the allowance of table games and a larger share of slots revenues, as much as 10 percent more than the 33 percent casino operators now receive.
But officials at Cordish Cos., owner of the state’s newest casino in Anne Arundel County, were not appeased by the greater share of slots revenues. President David Cordish has said a Prince George’s casino would harm the $500 million investment he made at Arundel Mills mall.
“As currently drafted, the proposed legislation is patently unfair to impacted operators and not in the best interest of the state,” said Joe Weinberg, managing partner at Cordish.
O’Malley dismissed Cordish’s concerns as an attempt to monopolize the state gambling industry, and he blamed casino groups for creating the need for a special session in the first place — the governor points to gambling as the reason for the General Assembly’s collapse in budget negotiations in April.
“They have a clear motive, and that is to maximize their profits, and I get that,” O’Malley said. “Some of them are willing to do whatever it takes politically, say whatever it takes politically, in order to do that, or in some cases to maintain a de facto monopoly.”
Comptroller Peter Franchot, who has been outspoken in his opposition to gambling, called on the governor and lawmakers to disclose financial contributions from gambling groups.
There is little evidence the General Assembly is returning for legislation that will have a meaningful financial impact on the state, Franchot said.
“I believe there is mounting public suspicion that this latest special session is not about jobs, revenue or public reinvestment, but rather an illustration of the corrosive effects of special interest money in our political system,” Franchot said.
