Dana,
Seriously? If you live in maryland(not ever to be confused with Merry-land) you already are aware of in-state gambling operations. Lottery and Keno is around every corner in this state and nowhere is it exempt in this state.My vote is for the PEOPLE to decide.

Tanisha, you are making a very misinformed generalization about the cities that have gambling but your assumption about people from Howard & Montgomery Counties not making the effort to go to Rosecroft may be partially correct. Rosecroft is not very far from Fed Ex Field and RFK Stadium and people from both Howard & Montgomery County go to Redskins games, DC United games, and all sorts of concerts and other events at those venues and they are not in the nicest parts of town either. The incentive of gambling will certainly bring more people from all around the region to Rosecroft but without full casino gaming more people will travel even further to Charlestown and Atlantic City. Even with just slots you will see more people from the region, even PG County going to Arundel Mills to play slots because there is more to do there than just play slots. If they do put slots at Rosecroft it will create the need to redevelop more than just the racetrack facilities to bring people there to gamble and knowing what a dump as you say the Rosecroft area has been for several decades, that can only be a positive thing. However, I firmly believe that there is a better chance of horses flying than a slots casino being approved for Rosecroft when it is common knowledge that the developers of National Harbor have bought and paid for the votes from state and local Democratic leaders to eventually get slots and ultimately full casino gambling into their facilities.

The Washington Post's Editorial Board agreed today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/prince-georges-cowardly-punt-to-annapolis-on-slots/2011/11/16/gIQABOoVSN_story.html

I did not vote for Mike Miller, and never would. Why is he have such control over the entire state? According to the Post, he can use political blackmail to get anything he wants. Apparently, including slots in our county.

lose control over organized gambling? hmmmmmm? what would you call the lottery?
How about keno? scratch offs? bingo night at the local church? They're in your
precious district already.

Laurel already should have had the slots. They spent several years aquiring the necessary permits only to have their backers(magna corp)bail in the eleventh hour. Lets decide not to put gambling machines where gamblers already go. Brilliant!! Lets
forget 30,000 people the racing industry employs. Brilliant!! Lets put in next to
a shopping mall!! even more Brilliant!! It's not the gamblers or the gambling that's remotely worrisome,but our fine politicians.

You are right on the money there, and they never seem to be able to come up with how much money they take in for the lottery, or when is the money supposed to stop going to the stadiums and start going to schools, they are all criminals. If it is a elected offical in this state it is corrupt and only cares for itself, and that is for both parties. Career politicians must be stopped. Such as Steny Hoyer, I think he has close to more than 30 years robbing the State and Country now.

Mr. McArdle, If that really is you then I have to ask how can the "Assistant Secretary and Senior Adviser to the Secretary of Higher Education" have such an uneducated and misinformed understanding of a subject you are so firmly against? The Slots in American Legion and VFW facilities are not government funded, owned, or operated, and they would not be a source of revenue for government programs. They would, in fact, simply help to fund the veterans associations own independent programs, thus improving services to veterans without tax payers dollars.

As for Governor Ehrlich's slots bills, had they been passed in the first year he sent them to the General Assembly as a vast majority of Maryland citizens clearly wanted then Maryland's coffers would have at least 7 years of slots revenues and subsequently related business tax revenues to not only balance the ridiculously over spending democrats annual budgets but likely lave the state with a surplus each year. We also would likely be talking about the resurgence of the racing industry here in Maryland and the increased revenues from not only keeping Rosecroft open, but Bowie would likely have remained open and thriving as a training and stabling facility providing hundreds of jobs as just a small part of a multi billion dollar equine industry that is a Maryland staple for two centuries. It is a shame that people like you cannot get past their sanctimonious, not in my back yard ways to see the benefits of the big picture.

Mr. McArdle, you are completely proving my assertion that you are apparently "uneducated and misinformed" on this issue. I would also call to question your reading comprehension because you clearly did not gather any information from my post. The slots that would be in a veterans facility would not have any connection to the government beyond a vote allowing a VFW or American Legion to independently own and operate 5 slot machines in their bars which are only patronized by their members and guests. There is no "payoff" as you are trying to imply.

As for your claim that deterioration, decay, and destruction can accompany legalized gambling, I will simply ask you when was the last time you visited Charles Town, WV or Dover, DE recently? Both cities have enjoyed a healthy revitalization since slots and now full casino gambling were legalized and people from Maryland are flocking to both locations for the influx of JOBS that have accompanied the influx of residual businesses into those areas. If given the choice, I am sure the community you speak of would vote for increased revenues and JOBS over the possibility of higher taxes, and one business after another closing down and thus even fewer jobs being available in an already struggling economy.

In the end your reasons for not wanting slots are respectable but they are very short sighted and not the views of the majority as we well know.

I assume you really just don't like to read or you simply choose to ignore the truth. Even a political novice would know enough to understand that the democrats in PG county have no need to "pay off" veterans considering they rarely get strong support from Veterans in elections. If anyone is being paid off by votes for or against a particular slots bill in PG County it would be the developers of National Harbor who were instrumental in getting the PG County delegation to vote against Gov. Ehrlich's slots bills because they would not have brought slots to their facilities.

You claim that I am not using facts to support my argument but you continue to ignore them in your responses. I will agree to disagree with you but only because you are blatantly avoiding the issues I have addressed in rebuttal to your remarks and it is pointless to try to discuss this with a brick wall.

Slots and casinos have done nothing but improve the numerous towns and cities that have them in our neighboring states as a direct result of the flood of revenues and residual jobs that have come with the casinos and related businesses. Charles Town, WV is a glowing example of the benefits of Casinos and Atlantic City which is often used as an example of how casinos can hurt a city has been revitalized in recent years with the help of Cordish and other companies that have redeveloped block after block and brought tens of thousands of new jobs into the city and it has been getting better every year.

Sir, if anyone has a hollow argument it is proven by your failure to acknowledge or respond to even one of the examples I gave to dispute your assertion that an influx of casino gambling would bring "deterioration, decay, and destruction." If the bill in question would have also allowed for faith based organizations to use forms of gambling for fundraising to support their charitable programs or to build or make renovations to their facilities I assume you would be against that as well but I would make a wager that a majority of the people that hold the same point of view as you would seriously consider changing their position. Lets not forget that only 15 years ago casino nights were held regularly throughout Prince Georges County and helped to raise much needed money for volunteer fire departments and other nonprofit organizations. If your claim were accurate, with all that gambling happening in the county back then one would think there would have been all this deterioration, decay, and destruction but instead the result was a bunch of bright shiny new fire trucks, rescue squads, and even new or renovated fire houses. Yes, there were incidents of corruption and misdirection of funds by some individuals within the bureaucracy running some of those casino nights but over all it was a very beneficial situation for the people of PG County.

What you call fanaticism I call a strong argument supported with a wealth of facts and examples. Yes, I am a fan of gambling over taxes.