Monday, January 7, 2013
All casinos in the state saw increases in revenue in the final month of the year, though revenue from Hollywood Casino and Ocean Downs was lower than in 2011. Maryland Live! pulled in $229 million in 2012.
The Maryland Live! casino pulled in $229 million in revenue in 2012, comprising more than 60 percent of all gambling revenue statewide, despite opening in June. The Maryland Lottery reported that the casino at Arundel Mills finished the year with $35 million in revenue in December, up from $34 million the month prior. Across the state, Maryland's three casinos pulled in $45.2 million in the last month of 2012, up nearly 5 percent from November. However, December revenue from Ocean Downs and Hollywood Casino was $3.19 million—or 25 percent—less than in 2011, when Maryland Live! was not yet open. Maryland Live! is the largest of the three casinos, with 4,750 game terminals. Its per-terminal revenue of $244 in December was nearly double …
Monday, November 5, 2012
A look at what's at stake—and how the battle is being waged.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT Question 7 asks voters whether they favor a plan to expand gambling in Maryland that would: The ballot question is a result of legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly during its 2012 special session (view the House and Senate roll calls) and signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley. Several other portions of the law are not subject to a referendum. Slot machines have been permitted in the state since voters approved a gaming referendum (59 percent to 41 percent) in November 2008. Passage of Question 7 would mark a significant shift, however, bringing Maryland's casinos closer in line with those of Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Under the law, casino operators would be allowed to keep a larger share of revenue—somewhere …
Monday, August 13, 2012
Del. Curt Anderson said he spent the weekend looking for "dirty tricks" in the Senate bill. "I found several," the city delegation chairman said.
Concerns about a Senate gaming bill will lead to nearly a half dozen amendments from Baltimore City delegates. "Did they think we weren't going to read the bill?" said Del. Curt Anderson, chairman of the Baltimore City delegation to the House of Delegates. Anderson made his comments during and after a one-hour meeting with city legislators on the version of the Senate bill that seeks to expand gambling in Maryland. Anderson said he spent the weekend reading the bill looking for "dirty tricks." "I found several," Anderson said. The Senate passed its bill Friday night and will not reconvene until 7 p.m. Tuesday. Any changes made by the House would have to be approved by the Senate. Five provisions of the Senate bill have caused concern among…
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Baltimore City delegation isn't set on special session for expanded gambling yet.
This afternoon word broke that a deal for a Special Session of the Maryland General Assembly to put expanded table gambling up to the voters was close, but that may not be the case. Del. Shawn Z. Tarrant, D-District 40, who was at meetings today with House Speaker Michael Busch, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and 10 other members of the delegation said a deal hasn’t been brokered. "No I haven’t heard that, and to be quite honest with you, the Baltimore delegation hasn’t been pitched anything of any value to make us vote for this," Tarrant said. But on Wednesday evening The Baltimore Sun reported Del. Maggie McIntosh, D-District 43, said after a meeting with Busch that a special session was likely to be convened in early August. McIntosh …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Officials say such parlors are illegal.
Inside a nondescript storefront on East Drive, the main drag of Arbutus, rows of computers line the walls. One afternoon last week, this Patch editor walked in and paid $5 in cash for computer time. I played several hands of draw poker, and less than 15 minutes later, walked out $7.75 richer. The business is described as an Internet café that sells computer time and offers customers a chance to win a sweepstakes drawing. Kathryn Rowe, assistant attorney general for the state of Maryland, characterized it differently. “It’s definitely gambling,” Rowe said. “It’s illegal.” The Internet Sweepstakes parlor on East Drive, which opened in March and closed on April 27, was the latest place to crop up in the Baltimore area in recent months. …
Bill Howard
4:35 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013
So if the purse is up, why is Owe-Malley raising the sales tax and gas tax? No matter what we do, we still hear the sucking sound of Annapolis cleaning our pockets. more ›