TAKE TRANSIT TO THE ONE-ARMED BANDITS

MTA BRINGS NEW MEANING TO

"CASINO BUS:"

HOW RED LINE RIDERS

CAN GET ABOARD

Attention high rollers who want to have a low impact on the environment:

As you may know, Maryland's first mega-casino, Maryland Live! at Arundel Mills, is opening June 6.

But did you know you can reach this state-of-the-art gaming, dining and entertainment emporium using public transportation?

From here at Bethesda Metro Center, or any other DC or Maryland Metro station on the Red Line, simply board a train headed for Shady Grove.

At the Shady Grove station, board the MTA Commuter Bus 201.

Bus 201 will take you to Arundel Mills Mall.

It arrives at the bus bays outside of Best Buy.  Unfortunately, the casino is on the other side of the main indoor mall building.  This won't be a problem for able-bodied folks, or those with electric wheelchairs (Bus 201 is handicapped-accessible, and the senior/disabled fare is only $3.20).  But if you are unsteady with a cane, for example, please call ahead to Arundel Mills or the casino, and they will be able to arrange assistance for you.

Maryland Live! will have 4,750 slot machines and electronic table games.

They also have a fabulous lineup of restaurants, including Bobby's Burger Shack, The Cheesecake Factory, Phillips Seafood, and Baltimore's legendary The Prime Rib.

Eventually, they will open a new Rams Head Center Stage concert facility on the premises.

So even if you aren't a gambler, the other amenities, and the great mall itself, are a fun destination you can now reach car-free.

The 201 also goes to BWI Airport.  The one-way fare is only $5 - try getting an airport van ride for $5!

Unlike MTA's disappointing Bus 203, 201 has a real schedule, and is usable by DC, Bethesda and other Red Line communities.  I think you'll also find the buses themselves to be a notch more luxe than Metrobus.

You don't have to be Kenny Rogers to give MTA Bus 201 five stars.

Click here for a downloadable, printable schedule for Bus 201! 

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.

NATIONAL HARBOR

DEVELOPER TO

BRING NEW MOVIEPLEX,

RETAIL TO

ROCK SPRING PROJECT

IN

BETHESDA

Site Will Also House 200 Room Hotel, 161 Condos;

Is There A Casino in Bethesda's Future?

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

The Peterson Cos., developer of National Harbor, has rescued the long-languishing Rock Spring development in Bethesda from the abyss.

Peterson will help finance, build and 50% pre-lease 300,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. The other 700,000 square feet will consist of Class A office space, a 200 room hotel and 161 luxury condos. That portion will be developed by DRI Development Services, LLC.

The only specific component revealed by Peterson is a multi-screen movieplex, which will directly compete with a new 15-screen theater at next-door neighbor Westfield Montgomery Mall, and a new iPic Entertainment Theaterplex being built by Federal Realty at its new Pike and Rose development at Rt. 355 and Montrose Parkway.

In general, this sounds like great news. National Harbor, for all of the negative talk about Prince Georges County, may well be the nicest development project in the entire DC area. Only Bethesda Row, Reston Town Center and the Rio/Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg can match it in terms of atmosphere, design and tenants, in my opinion.

But in terms of scope, scale, planning and economic potential, I think National Harbor is in a class by itself. It has more of a resort feel, and makes ridiculously great use of its waterside setting. Washingtonian Center did this on a smaller, manmade scale. The use of water features really takes a development or resort to the next level, a concept that apparently escapes developers in Montgomery County.

National Harbor also has an incredible lineup of 5-star restaurants. It doesn't have as many famous chefs as Bethesda Row, but you're never going to get tired of dining out if you are a tourist staying at National Harbor.

One thing Rock Spring and National Harbor have in common is great transportation planning. We know from data that at least 85% of residents and patrons of any development will drive, even if the site is adjacent to Metro. National Harbor is placed right off of the Beltway, and the project was almost solely responsible for the construction of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge (which would have been unnecessary had I-95 been built through Washington as originally planned!).

Likewise, Rock Spring is right off of both I-270 and the Beltway. The only problem is that the sections it is right off of are among the most-congested in the DC area. This is because of several missing roads that had been designed to accomodate development in the area: the Rockville Freeway, the Outer Beltway, the Northwest Freeway, the North Central Freeway, M-83 Midcounty Highway extended.

Now do you understand why our existing roadways are jammed?!

So we really need to build those roads, starting with the Rockville Freeway and Outer Beltway (I-370) in particular. But in terms of planning, when you're moving a lot of cars, highway access is essential.

Finally, with Peterson pumped up about a proposed National Harbor casino, it's worth contemplating just what the future holds for gaming in Montgomery County.

Casinos are only placed within X-number of yards of an Interstate Highway, and here there are two.

Just 6 years ago, Martin O'Malley described slots as "morally bankrupt." Two years later, he was the preeminent champion of casino gambling in the state of Maryland. Montgomery County's councilmembers and legislators fell aside to allow slots. Voters who previously condemned slots statewide when Bob Ehrlich was governor, mysteriously developed a passion for one-armed bandits once the narrative changed.

Now the last bastion of anti-gaming resistance - Prince Georges County - is considering becoming the biggest gaming capital outside of Vegas and the Atlantic City boardwalk.

If we could learn to sing along with Kenny Rogers so easily then, what will stop casinos in Montgomery County when the time is convenient again?

To play devil's advocate, National Harbor sure is a great spot to put a fancy casino. Conventiongoers are amongst the easiest of targets for a gaming palace. A National Harbor-style development with casino could really turn around the economy in the Burtonsville area off I-95. Politicians need the money.

And this has all been planned anyway. I've heard that hotels at National Harbor and newer ones in Ocean City are all pre-wired and configured for slots. Voters have proven to be eager to flip-flop on any previously-inconceivable gaming proposal. Even in a mall!

Could slots come to Rock Spring or other developments in Montgomery County?

"Impossible!," you might say.

And you'd be right. For now.