There seems to always be some sort of debate on the gambling front, and Maryland just seems to have more than their fair share of the problems. The state is always seemingly fighting within itself as to what should happen, how much of it should be happening, and how they are going to make it happen. When, after years of fighting, slot machines were finally legalized within the state, everyone thought that there was a great chance to finally bring some money into the state and give residents what they had wanted. They had spent years fighting to get slot machines legalized, and then finally it happened.
However, that was just the beginning. Once the slots were legalized then the legal challenges as to where they were going to be placed started. There were those that had said that they had no problem with the slots coming in as long as they were not near their homes. With that in mind the government started bringing in the plans for the casinos only to be met by all of these residents who had said OK to the machines who were now saying no to the location.
Once those legal challenges were figured out, the construction started, but not before some started talking about expansion of gambling in the state. The Governor, rightfully so, said that he was not going to worry about expansion until they could actually get one casino up and running. But the casinos said that this would be too late and that they had to start planning for it now. And so they did – they started trying to get the expansion pushed forward so that they could work toward it before the first casinos were up and running.
But with some casinos pushing for expansion and other casinos either just up and running or still working on getting there, there is a small thing that has been left out of the equation and that is the desire to give the casinos more money. There has been a slow and steady push by the casinos to get a larger share of the profits from the slots, and some residents do not like what they are hearing.
The casinos say that the percentage that they have been given is too low and that they cannot be expected to keep their doors open with the amount that they have been given. They say that the 33% is just too little and that they are “doomed to failure” if it remains at such a low amount. They say that they need at least 45%, but that 50% would enable them to be a healthier casino.
They say that with table games and a higher percentage that everyone would make out better for the table games will bring in those gamblers that just do not come out for the slots. But they say that they would be able to help make up that percentage that was now staying with the casinos instead of going back to the state by bringing in the table games. With the state currently getting 67% of the revenue that comes in, they feel that there is a great push for the casinos to get more of that, which would help them stay in business, for the amount that they are currently getting is “unsustainable.” They argue that for those that have yet to bring in a casino that it is just not worth it. They see how those that are already established are struggling and they do not want to end up like them. They think that this could easily be remedied by giving them more of the money that is coming in, and this would allow them to be stronger in their revenue base.
