AS PETITION DRIVE NEARS ITS GOAL, MARYLAND SLOTS FIGHT GETS UGLIER: January 27, 2010 News Report

Protesters disrupt slots petition drive
Maryland City event to block casino draws supporters of Arundel Mills plan

By ALLISON BOURG, Staff Writer: The Maryland Gazette and Capital Gazette Communications, Inc
Published 01/27/10

The fight over slots at Arundel Mills turned ugly Sunday, with proponents of the casino disrupting a petition drive aimed at forcing the issue to a local referendum, witnesses of the confrontation said.

Ray Smallwood, president of the Maryland City Civic Association, said about a dozen people arrived at the Maryland City Volunteer Fire Department where members of the citizens group Stop Slots were collecting signatures.

"They were looking for a fight, and that's all they were there for," he said yesterday.

Smallwood said one woman, who identified herself as an Eastern Shore horse breeder who supports slots at Arundel Mills, threatened to leave a dead horse's head in one volunteer's bed.

A protester said he was a student at Anne Arundel Community College and told slots opponents his tuition is increasing and revenue from slots might help keep costs down.

"I don't know what they think ... It's like they think this is going to make the grass greener," Smallwood said.

Though they were scheduled to be at the fire hall for three hours, the Stop Slots group left after an hour because of the disruption.

Robert Anicelli, president of Stop Slots, said in a statement released yesterday that some signature collectors have reported "po-tential interference" from slots proponents.

We are near our goal of reaching the required number of signatures for placing the mall casino zoning ordinance on the November ballot," Annicelli said. "However, in recent days we have seen an increase in organized activities, which can only be described as attempts to interfere with a successful petition drive."

Baltimore-based Cordish Cos. is planning to build the casino with 4,750 slot machines at the mall. The County Council approved zoning for the casino, called Maryland Live! in December after nine months of debate.

Stop Slots has until Feb. 5 to collect 9,500 signatures, the first hurdle in getting bringing the zoning law to a referendum on the November ballot. Joe Torre, director of the county Board of Elections, said he hasn't heard any complaints from petitioners. He said he has heard reports that some people are circulating pro-slots petitions.

"I think people do that to confuse other people," Torre said. "But I haven't seen any of that."

Smallwood couldn't identify any Cordish representatives who were at the drive.

Cordish managing partner Joe Weinberg said any reports that Cordish employees were at the fire hall are "completely false."

"My understanding was the meeting was sparsely attended and the only person who raised their voice was a horse industry representative who believes the owners of Laurel are driving the industry further into distress via funding of the petition effort," Weinberg wrote in an e-mail.

Zed Smith, vice president of development for Cordish, talked about the petition drive yesterday at a meeting of the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce in Gambrills.

He didn't mince words when speaking about the petition drive, and what it could mean if opponents gather enough signatures.

"We're hoping for cold weather, freezing temperatures, sleet ... anything that could make people not want to open their doors and sign a petition," Smith said with a chuckle.

It's been difficult, he said.

"But we believe in a good fight," Smith said. "The petition drive currently underway ... could be a huge delay for the project. And that's a big challenge."

Last week, Cordish submitted its site plans to the county approval, starting the review process it hopes will allow it to start construction later this year and open in 2011.

Smith criticized the Maryland Jockey Club for its part in the petition drive, saying he thought its representatives were being unfair. The company has hired a professional campaign organizer to assist in the drive.

The future of Laurel Park is still up in the air. The company that owns the track, Magna Entertainment Corp., is in bankruptcy proceedings and has put the track up for auction.

Cordish is one of the bidders for the track, but officials have said they have no intention of moving the casino from Arundel Mills to Laurel Park.

County and state officials say the casino could generate up to $400 million in revenue per year for the county, the state's Education Trust Fund and the horse racing industry.

"We still think Arundel Mills is the ideal site," Smith said. "It will be the most productive in the state of Maryland."

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Stop Slots volunteers are collecting signatures at the Villages of Dorchester community center, 7551 Dorchester Blvd., Hanover, from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.

Copyright © 2010 The Maryland Gazette and Capital Gazette Communications, Inc
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SLOTS SKIRMISHES CONTINUE TO HURT MD RACING

Anne Arundel County Council vote is crucial to
the future of Laurel Park, and probably Pimlico, too.

The Anne Arundel County Council is scheduled to vote on
Monday, Dec. 21, on zoning for the Cordish Companies’ proposed
slots site at Arundel Mills Mall, which means no slots at historical Laurel Park Race Track.

If the State of Maryland and its counties want to earn slots gambling money from lucrative Northern Virginia, Laurel is a far more accessible location to Virginians than Arundel Mills. It's also closer to Washington, DC, and very close to Baltimore, as well.

Since Laurel, Maryland, is already a high density area and Anne Arundel Mills is not, more open space and farm land would be lost by the Anne Arundel Mills development. Additionally, I've been to Arundel Mills. It's one of those discount shopping outlets in the middle of nowhere. Laurel has two major highways that access it -- the Baltimore Washington Parkway, and I95.

Is it not obvious that if Laurel racetrack receives slot machines on site, Maryland racing will have access to far more money? Think concessions, whatever "management" or "leaseholder" fees go to the site. Capitol investment to build a better facility, a nice hotel and restaurants would, no doubt, be offered right and left.

And if your local Maryland horsemen and breeders don't get more money from slots, Maryland farms will be sold as people move to more horse friendly states, like Pennsylvania. Serious losses will haunt Maryland’s breeding and racing industry -- which, let's not forget, along with the farms that grow horses, include hay farmers, feed sellers, veterinarians, tack shops, backstretch help, trainers, mushroom growers, and farriers, to name a few.

I'd like to think the quest for state dollars isn't far more important to the Anne Arundel Country Council than posterity, and Maryland history.

The vote is expected to be a close one.

It is important for County Council members to hear from people
in the Maryland breeding and
racing industry. Also, anyone interested in conserving green space, farmland, and those people who simply love horses and racing, please contact these legislators!

PS: why can't a horseman from Kentucky of Florida who has been to Maryland races, or run their horses in Maryland contact these county council members? It's your sport, too.

Following are e-mail addresses for Council members
expected to vote on the zoning:
Daryl Jones – District 1, daryl.jones@aacounty.org;
Ronald C. Dillon – District 3, rdillon@aacounty.org; G.
James Benoit – District 4, james.benoit@aacounty.org;
Cathleen M. Vitale – District 5, cvitale@aacounty.org; Tricia L.
Johnson – District 7, tricia.johnson@aacounty.org;

THIS LETTER APPEARED IN THE AUGUST 2 ISSUE OF THE "BLOOD HORSE."


# After Maryland legislators blocked the passing of slots for years, many of our best trainers, farms, and Maryland-bred horses left the area for neighboring states with slots gambling. West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware provided lucrative bonus opportunities in their state bred programs and huge purses to owners of state bred horses. As Maryland-breds and Maryland racetracks had little to offer in comparison, our industry’s lifeblood began its slow trickle toward death.
# Our politicians pulled a cape of misinformation over the eyes of the public, insisting slots gambling would increase crime and "take the food out of the mouth’s of children."
# By 2008, Maryland was facing a financial deficit so huge that state legislators finally backed off the slots issue, and the public was allowed to vote on a referendum in the November 2008 ballot. Even Speaker of the Maryland House, Michael Busch, stopped waving his cape. On November 4, 2009, the people voted and the referendum for slots passed by an overwhelming majority.
# But the games started again late in 2008 when Governor Martin O’Malley and Maryland legislative leaders appointed a Maryland Slots Commission. Most of us had expected to see the slot machines installed at Laurel Racetrack, but we didn’t grasp the significance of the fine print within the Comission’s bidding rules. In February of 2009, Magna subsidiary, Laurel Racing Association, refused to hand over $28.5 million for the chance to bid on a slots license.
# It seems the Association had concerns about getting its money back if local zoning rules created hurdles for their project. Laurel contended the requirement of the licensing fee was without clarity, or legal authority to ensure refundability – that it was unlawful and should not be enforced. Laurel was, however, willing to put the money into escrow.
# At a scheduled hearing, the Slots Commission voted to deny Laurel a bid after ignoring representatives from the Laurel Racing Association and their request for a chance to speak.
# Meanwhile the Baltimore-based developer, Cordish Companies put up $28.5 million and waited to be granted a slot’s license. But in an effort to get the bidding reopened, Laurel sued the Maryland Slots Commission. The case finally wound up with the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland’s highest court. Laurel’s insistence there was no legal safeguard for the return of their money, was one of the issues the court was supposed to rule on.
# Being a longtime Maryland horse breeder and hoping to see slots installed at Laurel – a site which would have by far the most positive effect on Maryland racing and breeding – I checked the internet daily for word of the court’s ruling. I even called the court near the end of June and the woman who answered the phone said the decision would come "anytime now."
# Imagine my surprise when I checked the website early in July and read this.: "After June 9, 2009, the Court will recess until September 2, 2009." What a joke. A whole industry waits for a decision and they're in recess!
# But wait! Don’t forget the Cordish Companies’s $28.5 million. The State of Maryland still holds the money and, I assume, receives fat interest payments.
# Meanwhile, Anne Arundel County, where Cordish plans to put slots, had some zoning issues. After indicating a zoning change was required, the County leaders decided not to rule on the issue until September. Do you think Cordish is being screwed? Do you think Laurel Racing was right?
# If you’re a supporter of Kentucky racing no doubt you were dismayed last week to learn the politicians there had dashed your hopes of legalizing slots. My God, you Kentuckians ask, are we following in Maryland’s bloody wake?
# You might ask yourself, "Who benefits from not having slots?" I'd bet my farm that money has been paid in both states, to some person or entity to stop the legalization of slots. Webster's Dictionary should remove the word altruism altogether.
# Maybe I should just have a vodka gimlet and not worry about this stuff. My concerns and efforts to follow the money and figure out who or what is behind each political roadblock are about as useful as beating the carrion eaters off a dead horse.
Sasscer Hill

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Has any state ever worked so hard to trash an industry?

On July 21, -- despite the press's contention the Maryland of court of appeals was in recess until September -- the court ruled that a dispute over Laurel Park’s disqualified bid to open a slot-machine casino should be decided by a state contracting board before being litigated in court. In other words, they refused to rule, sending the issue back for further delay.

I have to wonder if a slots license will ever be awarded to anyone before the Maryland racing industry is buried six feet under. Amazing how Pennsylvania got their slots up and running in record time with barely a quibble. The purses there are up 100%, and bonuses for PA breds are fabulous.

Who is lining the pockets of our state legislators to keep killing this industry? Developers? Some as yet unknown group that has their own plans for slots and gambling in our state?