Maryland votes to legalize slots machines

[phystech]

The slots deal in Maryland will turn out to be the biggest political joke ever thrown at voters in Maryland.

There is still enabling legislation associated with the passage of the referendum to be dealt with . The General Assembly will have field day with that legislation and the Speaker of the House, Mike Busch, will be leading the charge. The man literally kept slots out of MD while the previous Gov and the Senate President did everything they could to get them legalized.

Busch and Miller both get to appoint a member, or members, to the committee that will review the applications for slots licenses. I can't believe Busch will capitulate on his desire to keep slots revenue out of the hands of Magna, and more importantly, Joe DeFrancis, who still stands to reap a huge windfall from slots profits for the next 20 years. I don't see Laurel Park (Magna) getting slots. I can see Magna selling MJC soon, though. I can also see a major casino operator coming in to bid on the license intended for the Laurel and placing the facility close-by the track.

I also would not be surprised if the division of revenue funds isn't gutted and reallocated during the enabling legislation discussion. I can hear Mike Busch's speach now - "This referendum was passed by the people of the State to help fund education for our children. In these tough economic times, we need to provide more funding for our children and not enrich a Canadian company who will reinvest their profits in Canada - let's keep Maryland money in Maryland. So, not only are we not going to grant Magna a license, but we are cutting the 7% race purse funding to 1%. Racing is a dying industry and we shouldn't prop it up with slots proceeds. The money is for the children."

I hate to be so cynical but anytime you throw bait to a sucker, you catch a sucker - and that's what the MD Dem's caught yesterday.