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Maryland Braces for Casinos

Posted on September 24th, 2010

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A week from now, amidst of the casino revolution going on in the Eastern region of the United States, Maryland would join in the trend and be another state that would having gaming facilities available for its residents. It took years of debate and delays, as almost any state adapting gambling in their shores, to finally realize the slots casino in Maryland, which will finally open next week. Last Wednesday, the state commission on gambling inspected the facility, which is almost done, and were greeted with cheers by the workers and whirring of machinery as last-minute preparations were being done in the Hollywood Casino Perryville. It is located in the state’s northeastern region. The facility is set to be launched to the public on the last day of September. The casino will be housing at least 1,500 slot machines.

As of the time the gaming commission visited the premises, technicians were tweaking through the machines already standing on the gaming floor while only minor construction was being conducted inside the huge art deco building, decorated by old Hollywood movie posters posted from the ceiling. Outside the building, major landscaping still had to be done. Despite the last-minute chaos of finishing everything, casino representatives coming from Penn National Gaming which owns the facility, maintained that the schedule is being followed. By the time the grand opening day will arrive, everything will be ready. The event is expected to attract a dignitary-heavy crowd, including the state governor, Martin O’Malley. The governor has been a champion of the slots program. His appearance will be a reminder of his stand on the issue of gambling as he gears up for reelection to happen the first week of November.

The chairman of the commission, Donald Fry, said, “We’re glad to see a facility opening. We think this is what the voters of Maryland asked for.” This site shows the promise that the slots program of the state holds, which, unlike most neighboring states, started relatively late, only in 2008, when a referendum of resident voters authorized it. The governor proposed the public vote so that the stalemate between the legislature’s two houses will be solved. The term of his predecessor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., was plagued by this indecision, and Ehrlich is also trying to win back his old job against O’Malley. A lot of people may reduce the casino’s 15,000 slot machine offerings to be rather boring, but before concluding that, it would be interesting to take note that most of these slot machines are not the usual slot machines one may usually picture in their minds. A majority of these machines have the style of video screens and they have modern-day themed games. Sex and the City, the famous TV and movie franchise and Redneck Rumble of Jeff Foxworthy are sxome of the themes incorporated to these slot machines.

A number of electronic table games are also available. By “electronic table games,” they mean machines that simulate popular casino table games like blackjack and roulette without the actual paraphernalia like cards or wheel, as all of those will be in the screen. The facility also hosts a gift shop and a restaurant that serves buffet fare. The Ocean Downs Racetrack, located on the eastern Shore area of Maryland will be the site of the second slots site in the state. Since the location is originally a horse racetrack, this will be the first “racino” of the state, a racetrack facility that hosts casino offerings. This will open on December 16 and will house 750 slot machines at the beginning, with the option to expand to an additional 50. Its original Memorial Day opening was moved after problems in construction and asbestos had to be solved first.

Two planned facilities, which happen to be the largest facilities in the state, are still uncertain. The fate of the Anne Arundel County proposal to construct a facility at the Arundel mills mall that will house 4,750 machines is resting on a referendum by voters to either repeal or support the current zoning bill. Meanwhile, the plans for a site in Baltimore are still in limbo as Fry’s commission rejected the project’s developer with its plan to build a facility in the city’s downtown that will contain 3,750 machines.