SLOTS IN

MONTGOMERY COUNTY?

Montgomery May Soon Be Last

County in MD without a Casino

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

If you own the Arundel Mills Casino, you're having a bad weekend.

First, Prince Georges County announced plans to open a casino with more slots than a Vegas parlor.

Friday, multiple media outlets reported that Charles County wants a piece of the action. State lawmakers are quickly and quietly moving on legislation to allow the southern Maryland county to open a casino.

Here's the best part: it is located less than one foot from Virginia soil.

If you're not aware, starting at the low tide mark on the shore in Colonial Beach, Virginia, Maryland has jurisdiction over the waters of the Potomac River.

During the 1950s, several casinos operated on piers at Colonial Beach until the gambling was outlawed. On those perches over the water, they were technically in Charles County.

One such casino remained after the golden age ended. I happen to be very familiar with Colonial Beach, and I can tell you this place used to be called The Reno.

Today, it is known as "The Riverboat on the Potomac," and Virginia company Blueridge Ventures is asking for a license to add 1200 slot machines. It estimates these machines would raise $46.5 million annually for the state of Maryland.

The proposal would require the consent of Maryland voters on the 2012 ballot. We now know that Maryland voters will approve just about anything they are told to approve, given that those same "anti-casino" voters handily approved slots a few years ago.

So this legislation is near certain to pass. It should be especially appealing to Maryland politicians and voters, because Maryland gets all the revenue, while Virginia mops up any resulting crime or social problems.

At the same time, I can also tell you from experience, that Colonial Beach has been experiencing hard times tourism-wise since slots left town in the late 50s. Obviously, that was before my time, but the last nice stuff was crumbling away through the 80s and 90s.

So they'll be glad for the influx of gamblers. And the world doesn't seem to end in the many Canadian towns that host casinos. But it does pose a challenge to destinations that want to be known as "family-friendly."

It's funny that just a few weeks ago, I was raising the question of whether a casino would ever open in Montgomery County. The idea seems impossible now. But, as I mentioned, look what happened in Prince Georges County. Much like statewide opinion polls showed, Prince Georges overwhelmingly opposed slots when Gov. Bob Ehrlich proposed legalizing them. And Gov. O'Malley said slots were "morally bankrupt."

About a year later, O'Malley was the biggest backer of one-armed bandits on the East Coast. Ike Leggett and several councilmembers urged Montgomery's delegation in Annapolis to vote for slots - and most did.

And Prince Georges County? A recent poll showed a very slim majority of residents now support slots.

I mention these facts for your consideration, to realize just how quickly political machines in Maryland and local counties can flip-flop on a hot potato issue as contentious as slots.

And how quickly they can use the media to change public opinion.

National Harbor developer Peterson Cos. is supporting that massive casino, which would be located at that site. Peterson is now part of a smaller development here in Bethesda, called Rock Spring. It has been said that hotels at National Harbor and in Ocean City were pre-configured for slots, even though no official plans existed for such casinos at the time.

With casinos popping up in every large county in the state, politicians ready to flip-flop overnight, and county and state spending increasing rather than downsizing...

...how much longer will it be before someone asks for a casino license in Montgomery County?

You have to wonder. I'm predicting it now. Write that down, and tell me if I'm right in a few years.

What do you think about a casino (or more than one) opening in Burtonsville or Bethesda? Impossible? Terrible idea? "Brilliant, I'll be there every weekend?"

The news from Charles and Prince Georges County suggests the time to think about the issue is now.