Feb 29, 2008 11:57 am US/Eastern
Bill May Outlaw Scores Of Gambling Machines In Md.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) ―
A plan to outlaw most electronic gambling machines in Maryland by the middle of next year is raising hackles in Washington County, where locally regulated tip-jar games generated $2.9 million for charities and volunteer fire and rescue companies last year.
The twin bills introduced Wednesday in the Senate and House of Delegates would ban virtually all electronic gambling machines, including those that dispense tip-jar tickets, or pull tabs.
Machines on the Eastern Shore that raise money for nonprofit organizations would be exempted.
The bill, if passed as written, would shut down about 15 regulated machines in Washington County, said James B. Hovis, the county's gaming director. He told The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail Wednesday that the loss wouldn't be devastating to the county's 115 tip-jar operators, most of whom rely on sales of traditional paper tickets for most of their gambling business.
But Penny Pittman, chairwoman of the Washington County Gaming Commission , said that as the owner Pittman's Liquor in Hancock she was "absolutely, positively opposed to the bill." She said her business has invested about $4,000 for each machine.
Bill sponsors, including Democratic Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. say the proposal is aimed at a proliferation of unregulated, slot-style gambling machines, particularly in St. Mary's and Charles counties.
But Delegate Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington, said it also would eliminate legitimate, locally regulated machines to clear the way for state-operated slot machines. Maryland voters will decide in November whether to legalize slot machines at selected sites.
"I think it is yet another attempt to harm gaming operations in the rural parts of the state," Shank said.
Delegate LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington and Allegany, agreed that the bill is an attempt to remove some of the competition for slot machines.
Myers' district includes part of Allegany County, where about 140 locally regulated electronic pull-tab machines are in operation, according to Gerald Joy, county gaming administrator.
That number has risen from 66 machines reported in October by Joy's predecessor.
County-regulated gambling in Allegany County has generated just over $2.1 million for education and fire and rescue squads since 2005, the first full year it was legal, Joy said in January.
Bruce Bereano, a lobbyist for an Arbutus, Md., gaming supplier that does business in Washington County, said he plans to round up charities to lobby against the measure in Annapolis. He likened traditional paper tip-jar games to the Model T Ford: "It's on its way out."
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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