F r o m T h e E d i t o r

It's Time for Maryland to Get Gaming

I took a stroll through Laurel Park one night a few weeks ago to check out owner Magna Entertainment's recently completed $20 million renovation. My last visit to the track was on a sunny, crisp winter weekday a year or so ago. There were a decent number of fans in attendance, but not enough to brag about.

On this occasion, there was just a so-so crowd scattered about, betting on various races that were being beamed in via satellite from tracks across the country. Tycoon's Bar and the new Horse Wizard, which teaches novices how to wager, were both closed. There was activity, but no buzz.

What I also noticed was how the lay of the grandstand at Love-ly Lau-rel, as the late local sports broadcasting icon and pony prognosticator Charley Eckman used to call it, seemed strategically barren in several spots - which turned my thoughts to how 3,500 slot machines in a new casino would jazz the joint up.

It's time. It's been time.

I feel that way for several reasons, but mainly because, as editor of a business publication, I really, really hate seeing $400 million discretionary dollars that could be spent here in the Old Line State being gambled away in Delaware, West Virginia, Las Vegas, the Moon or wherever.

The estimated $700 million a year in gaming taxes for the state that would be generated by slots would help us locals pay for the education of our youngsters, while also bolstering the long-suffering horse racing industry. Including the horse breeding industry, it has an economic impact of $1.1 billion and composes 78% of the total estimated sports impact in Maryland, according to the Governor's Special Commission on Professional Sports and the Economy.

Another consideration is the impact of slots on the state's entertainment industry. If a place like Merriweather Post Pavilion can generate ancillary sales of $4.6 million a year in Howard County with just 20-some dates, imagine how great a once-again bustling Love-ly Lau-rel would look in a business corridor situated between two large cities.

I could go on, so I will. It has never made much sense to me that people are against gambling at horse racing courses, of all places. And if it pops up one or two other places (but no more) in Allegany County or Cecil County, or a cruise ship out in the Cheseapeake, fine. Go ahead and rev up that economic engine.

Then there is the matter of the 4,000 new jobs the approval of slots would generate that Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development Secretary Aris Melissaratos mentioned when he addressed lawmakers in Annapolis recently.

This is not to say that I am not understanding of other views. Some observers consider legalizing slots a band-aid that avoids solving deeper budgetary problems. They feel that it may prevent certain companies from wanting to locate here and that it will attract the wrong element, thus leading to way more addiction and crime.

Yes, there will be more gambling addicts in the state that could reduce the potential payback by draining state resources more than anyone anticipates - but to such a degree that it would negate the overall benefit? Hardly. Addiction is an illness, yes, but we all have to be responsible for our actions.

And if the horse racing industry goes into a deeper decline and the Preakness and its $30 million impact ever leaves Maryland, we'll never hear the end of it. We will see the end of all the good public relations and marketing opportunities it creates nationwide, however.

Some supporters have even argued that if the state legalizes slots, its time to go for it and legalize casino gambling, too. That would bring even more additional income to the state and Maryland would get a more significant jump on other states that may legalize it, too. That would also make up for some of the money lost by not pulling the trigger sooner.

It just makes sense. And please consider that this stance comes from a guy who has been to Las Vegas a dozen times and has probably gambled less than $50 on slots in more than a decade, and runs for the nearest baseball park at the suggestion of table games.

While the camps of Gov. Robert Ehrlich and Speaker of the House Michael Busch continue to tussle in Annapolis, the thought of a once-again bustling Laurel Park, big money for educational coffers and huge economic impact is just too much to put off any longer.