State to consider table games bill

Despite opposition from Prince George's County lawmakers, a state bill to bring slots and table gaming venues to the county will be debated in the state legislature this session.

Sen. J.J. Peters (D-Prince George's) introduced SB 892: Gaming – Video Lottery Terminals and Table Games, last Monday, which would enable the state's five authorized slot machine locations to expand their businesses to include table games — such as black jack and craps — and allow the county to house its first gaming facility. The legislation stems from a postponed county bill that District 3 County Councilman Eric Olson (D-College Park) introduced last fall opposing slots machines in the county, which spurred a debate between the machines' economic benefits and potentially negative societal effects.

After the state senate and house debate the bill, it will go to a public vote in November, where the majority of individual counties' residents must OK the games in order for them to come to their respective county. In 2008, a statewide referendum voted in favor of allowing five slot machine locations in the state — although only two followed through with the initiative — but this county was not one.

Sen. Roger Manno (D-Montgomery) said the state needs to provide venues such as these to generate revenue and spur economic growth by creating jobs.

"This bill, in terms of what it does, raises revenue, but it also increases economic activity unbelievably," he raises revenue, but it also increases economic activity unbelievably," he said, adding that a single table game facility can help create 600 to 800 jobs.

The state's two casinos — the Hollywood Casino in Perryville and the Casino at Ocean Downs in Berlin — generated almost $80.3 million from slot machines thus far in fiscal year 2012. About $38.9 million went to the state education trust fund, while $26.5 million went back into the casinos and the rest was divvied up between various other groups in small increments, according to a January press release from the Maryland Lottery.

Manno said the state cut $40 million to state Medicaid programs last year, which he called "just the tip of the iceberg." He added that unless the state generates more revenue, further tough cuts are in the state's budgetary future.

"The state's got an unbelievably, very, very serious budget challenge; I think it's worse than most folks believe it is," he said. "We really have to keep our options open in terms of revenue because the cuts are going to be more than we can bear."

While table games don't generate much money for the state, bringing them into slot facilities can help expand those businesses and bolster economic activity, Manno said.

"The higher-end sort of resort destination casinos have restaurants and shows, and all of those are concessions that make money," he said. "I would be shocked if the overall economic activity … was not in the billions, billions, billions of dollars."

However, Olson said in an interview in the fall that he fears slots will open the doors to "social ills" and instead would like to see the county focus their efforts on job creation rather than giving residents a nearby outlet to lose money. He said he is also opposed to the new legislation that would allow both table games and slots to find a new home in the county.

Gaming venues have also attracted the support of local labor unions, who rallied behind slots when the issue first came to the state four years ago, according to Fred Mason, president of the Washington and Maryland chapters of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. He said although his organization has not yet formed an official stance on the issue, gambling locations would help curb the state's unemployment rate.

"In general, we support those initiatives that create jobs," he said. "If table games also help create jobs, we will be very likely to support that."

He added that the lack of gaming facilities in the state forces residents to cross state lines into Delaware and West Virginia to bet their money.

"There's no reason that those dollars should continue to go out of Maryland," he said.

bach@umdbk.com