Kirwan turns down top spot in slots committee

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) appointed former Harford County state lawmaker Donald C. Fry to a panel that will hand out slots licenses, after the University System of Maryland Chancellor Brit Kirwan and the presidents of both the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County rejected the position, The (Baltimore) Sun reported Friday.

The article said the system's Board of Regents informally advised Kirwan and University of Baltimore President Robert L. Bogomolny against accepting the possibly controversial job, which is unpaid and requires long hours. Bogomolny, Kirwan and Board of Regents Chairman Cliff Kendall declined to comment.

The regents unanimously approved the slots initiative before the referendum.

The job's duties include choosing the companies to install slots at the five locations across the state. Fry has led the Greater Baltimore Committee - a board that advocates for expanding gambling to economically benefit the Baltimore region - since 2002. One of the committee's members, The Cordish Cos., will likely apply for one or more slots licenses.

Slots could lead to $450 million in revenue for casino operators and yield $1.36 billion in total state-wide revenue after player's winnings are deducted. About 48 percent of this total slots revenue after the deduction of player winnings will fund education in the state, although the breakdown for K-12 and higher education has yet to be determined.

Fry told the Sun that he expects the panel's dealings will be highly scrutinized. O'Malley, state House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch (D) and state Senate President Mike Miller (D) will each soon appoint two more members to the commission. According to the laws governing the committee, members must not have a financial connection to gambling, horse-racing or slots interests or an official relationship to a slots license bidder.

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