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Originally Posted by Kasept
Laurel vows to fight casino approval
By Matt Hegarty
http://www.drf.com/news/article/109672.html
The racing industry in Maryland vowed on Monday night to push back against the approval of a zoning measure that would allow the construction of a casino in Arundel Mills Mall near Laurel Park.
The approval by the Anne Arundel County Council caps a 10-month effort by the Cordish Cos. to get local go-aheads for the casino, which could be the largest in Maryland, housing 4,750 slot machines. The council voted 4 to 2 to issue a zoning permit for the casino on Monday night, over objections from local anti-gambling groups and Laurel's owners, who want a casino of their own.
The Cordish Cos. applied for the right to build the casino after Maryland voters approved a referendum last year allowing five casinos in the state, including one in Anne Arundel County, where Laurel Park is located. Laurel Park, through its parent company Magna Entertainment, also applied to operate a casino in the county, but its application was thrown out because Magna did not include a $28.5 million fee associated with the application.
After the vote, Laurel's general manager, Tom Chuckas, said in a statement that Laurel planned to join with anti-gambling groups in sponsoring a petition to overthrow the county vote. Laurel and its sister track, Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, are operated by a Magna subsidiary called the Maryland Jockey Club.
"The Maryland Jockey Club will fully support the counter initiative sponsored by the group Stop Slots at Arundel Mills Mall to bring this issue back to the voters of Anne Arundel County, who deserve the right to determine if a mall is what they wanted for gaming," Chuckas said. "We are going to continue to pursue all of our legal options and exhaust all means and measures to continue this fight."
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Help me with this as obviously I am missing something....
1) Years of legislative work to put slots in Md ended with MAGNA,in it's current pathetic financial state, failing to put up the 18 million necessary to be considered for a slot license.
2) Legislature makes 3 licenses available provided no 2 licenses are setup in a single county.
3) Party who followed every rule, deadline, and provided the upfront money necessary for a licenses announces plans to build slot parlor.
Now MAGNA who refused to participate in the bidding process and has said no facility will be built by MAGNA at Laurel is now collecting 18K signatures to stop construction of a slots parlor because it is too close to Laurel.
Why should anyone care or side with MAGNA??????