Plans to put a slots casino at a Maryland outlet mall moved far closer to reality Monday night when the Anne Arundel County Council approved zoning for the 4,750-machine facility, breaking a stalemate that threatened to sink the project.
With a 4 to 2 vote, the council gave its blessing to the proposed casino at Arundel Mills mall, which would be the largest of five slots sites authorized in Maryland and one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
Cordish Cos., the project's Baltimore-based developers, must still obtain an array of permits before breaking ground, and several legal and other challenges loom. But zoning approval had emerged as the biggest hurdle for the casino, which Cordish has said could open by December 2011.
The state awarded the company a slots license two weeks ago, contingent on the council's zoning approval. For months, homeowners from neighborhoods around the mall have fought the legislation, voicing concerns about increased traffic and whether a casino would erode the mall's "family-friendly" atmosphere.
But those concerns were trumped Monday by the promise of the revenue that slots could bring to the state and the county.
"We need this money," council member Tricia L. Johnson (R-Davidsonville) told a packed council chamber as she urged her colleagues to pass "a proposal right in front of us."
Within a few years, the mall casino could generate more than $500 million a year, about half of which would be earmarked for state education programs, according to consultants hired by the state. The county would also get a cut of the proceeds.
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3 comments:
What a joke!
From the Governor, to the State Legislature, to the local idiots who rule on such things, this "Slots" scam in Maryland has been a disaster. When a more reasoned and achievable Gambling program for the State was proposed by a Republican Executive, it was soundly defeated by the liberal State Legislature. But they learned nothing from the exercise.
So when the whole political machine in Maryland became Liberal, they managed to manipulate a multitude of programs, including slots, that have been a disaster for the State.
Maryland is no longer a "business friendly" state, and it shows in the lost revenue now being experienced. And then the Legislature thought the solution was slots, and they managed to create a Constitutional Amendment on slots that is now the laughing stock of the nation.
What a bunch of jerks. I hope all the liberal incumbents are voted out next year.
I'm with you on dumpin the dems,
but hey Arundel Mills is the greatest of all malls by far and this will make it even more of a destination mall
Its well worth the
2hr drive from sby
Yes... and there really is an Easter Bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy, etc. C'mon people. There is "no quick fix" to this stuff. It's simple business 101. You simply cannot spend MORE than you take IN. Get it? The only people who are going to be at those slots are the ones that can least afford it. Don't believe me what slots and the ilk can do? Drive to Atlantic City and see if you like what it has done to that dump.
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