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Some feel slots referendum is real gamble, others a saving grace for state
Question 2
CUMBERLAND — One item on this year’s ballot won’t depend on party affiliation, but whether or not you’re in favor of Question 2.
And with many groups coming out and declaring their support, many others are opposed to the referendum that would allow up to 15,000 slot machines in five Maryland locations, including Rocky Gap State Park.
A group of local pastors, Chuck Erzkus of Christ Lutheran in LaVale, Rebecca Vardiman of Frostburg United Methodist, Lloyd McCanna of Center Street United Methodist, Sherrill Dillon of Second Baptist and Edward Chapman of Emmanuel Episcopal, are just some who are against the referendum.
Erzkus said the group has a number of concerns about Question 2, specifically regarding the 1,500 slot machines planned for Rocky Gap.
“Rocky Gap was developed to be a family park,” Erzkus said. “You’re taking a family park and dumping a casino into it which is not family oriented.”
And, with the idea of a casino coming to a state park, more concerns arise for the group: How will it affect local businesses, crime rate and those more susceptible to addiction?
“On top of the nitty-gritty economic concern, as pastors, we’re concerned about the well-being of those who are most susceptible,” Vardiman said. “We’re concerned about the people that this could really be a problem for and their families.”
Dillon adds these machines are not the “same old-fashioned, one-armed bandits we’re use to.”
“They are all linked in keeping the gambler here as long as they can so they can lose as much as they can,” he said. “That’s why they have cheap food, cheap lodging, cheap alcohol — that accents those more prone for addiction.”
But those prone to addiction is not the only concern. The people gambling will bring in also has the pastors worrying.
McCanna said he read a report that stated approximately 400,000 Maryland residents go out of state to gamble, spending close to $1,000 every year for a total of $400 million.
“(The state) expects to raise $1.3 billion when this thing is fully operational,” McCanna said, “so where is the rest of this $900 million going to come from? It’ll come from new gamblers. That means 900,000 gamblers have to be created to make up that difference, whether it’s from out of state or new people in Maryland.”
“Casinos soak up disposable income from the area,” Erzkus said. “If people in the area can go for a meal at the casino because it’s cheaper, and then have some entertainment, eventually, how much does that damage the local restaurant industry?”
The others agreed and added casinos will be destructive to Allegany County’s quality of life and what it is all about.
However, a lot of others have come out in support of Question 2, including the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.
“Maryland sees Question 2 as an alternative to more taxes,” said Kathleen Snyder, president and CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. “We may be one of the wealthiest states but we are also one of the highest taxed.”
Snyder said last November, the General Assembly passed more than $1.3 billion in new taxes and, if the referendum doesn’t pass, the General Assembly will find more holes and either have to cut education or raise taxes.
Snyder said the state will own the machines and give out the licenses. She also said the language in the law behind the constitutional amendment is pretty specific in how this project will be handled.
“In the law, it’s pretty specific about Rocky Gap,” she said. “It says that the property has to be separate from the Rocky Gap lodge. It also states how close these venues have to be to an interstate highway.”
Snyder said she has read reports and not seen a significant crime increase in West Virginia or Delaware for businesses that are in or around the slot venues. She adds that since the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police and a number of other law enforcement groups have come out in favor of slots, that is a good indication that statistics have been studied and the law enforcement here doesn’t see an eminent problem.
The Allegany County commissioners are also in favor of the slots referendum.
“It’s a necessary thing to do to close the structural deficit of the state,” said Commissioner Robert Hutcheson. “We are trying to see the image, the story, that money is leaving Allegany County every day and going to West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware that should be retained here to help take care of the school system and education.”
Hutcheson said an estimated $660 million will go toward education, close to $448 million going to casinos and $100 million to horse racing. And though a lot may seem to be going back to gambling, Hutcheson said you cannot expect these businesses to come in and not make a profit.
“There’s an expense to operate a business and some money has to go back to them,” he said. “It is a fact that any business expects to make a profit.”
Hutcheson also said he does not see slots affecting the way of life here.
“If this were the first introduction of gambling in the state, I might look at it differently, but it’s not,” he said. “The lottery and keno has been in effect for many, many years.”
He also said he still feels Rocky Gap can be a family place because families can still go to the beaches, play in the water, go boating and not go to the casino. He adds that Rocky Gap isn’t the only place people can go to gamble.
Contact Tess Hill at thill@times-news.com.
