BACKGROUND: For several months now, Maryland Juice has been concerned with the increasingly obvious influence of the gambling industry on Free State policymakers. Its not that I am some Puritan about gambling; rather, I have a real problem when I see a single industry able to dictate how so many of our policymakers' hours are spent.
It seems that many years ago, the casino industry decided that they wanted to bring gambling to Maryland, and ever since then they've just made up reason after reason why we need slots and table games. The argument changes depending on the season. All along, our politicians just repeat the industry spin like a bunch of sock-puppets.
First, the slot machine industry claimed we needed to save the horseracing industry. After slots revenues fell short, they argued we needed more. Moreover, we needed more money for things like education. Later came arguments about residents spending money in Delaware and West Virginia. Now, the argument is simply money (ie: greed). For policymakers to so willingly engage in this race to the bottom is a bit disturbing.
Maryland Juice believes it is time to stop the madness, because if we let slots and tables games move across the state, it will be impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Below, you can see a brief review of the insanity:
SPIN #1: SLOTS NEEDED TO SAVE THE PREAKNESS: When slots were first proposed in Maryland, proponents of gambling claimed they were needed to save our majestic history of horse-racing. Indeed, today The Daily Record's Alexander Pyles reminded readers of this phony-baloney argument to bring gambling to Maryland:
THE PREAKNESS? ISN'T THAT KINDA RANDOM? - Indeed, Maryland Juice has been to the Preakness, and its lovely! The annual event gives attendees a wonderful excuse to wear lavish hats to the racetracks, while sippin' on "black eyed susans."
Take, for example, the image to the right from the 2011 Preakness. Baltimore Sun photographer Monica Lopossay captured this dapper couple decked out in elegant Preakness fashion.
An interesting question, however, is out of all the booze-filled parties in Maryland, why does this one in particular warrant statewide referenda, subsidies, and gambling? Is any one-day party really worth pushing residents to mindlessly drop millions of dollars worth of quarters into Caesars' slot machines?
Moreover, using the Preakness as an argument to promote gambling was always fishy. Indeed, it is quite manipulative to conjure up state pride and fond memories of ye olden times. But have you been to the Preakness lately? If not, here are a few photos The Baltimore Sun didn't include. They are from the 2010 Preakness and were posted by Chiara Atik at the Guest of a Guest blog:
YAY! WE SAVED THE PREAKNESS! - I don't mean to bash on The Preakness or booze-filled partiers per se, but I DO mean to bash on the idea that we should pull millions of dollars out of Maryland consumers' pockets in order to save the party above. But it is sort of a moot point now, because the horsetracks now have slot revenues pouring in, with millions more coming online soon. Last month, Barry Rascovar noted in the Carroll County Times (excerpt below):
It seems that many years ago, the casino industry decided that they wanted to bring gambling to Maryland, and ever since then they've just made up reason after reason why we need slots and table games. The argument changes depending on the season. All along, our politicians just repeat the industry spin like a bunch of sock-puppets.
First, the slot machine industry claimed we needed to save the horseracing industry. After slots revenues fell short, they argued we needed more. Moreover, we needed more money for things like education. Later came arguments about residents spending money in Delaware and West Virginia. Now, the argument is simply money (ie: greed). For policymakers to so willingly engage in this race to the bottom is a bit disturbing.
Maryland Juice believes it is time to stop the madness, because if we let slots and tables games move across the state, it will be impossible to put the genie back in the bottle. Below, you can see a brief review of the insanity:
SPIN #1: SLOTS NEEDED TO SAVE THE PREAKNESS: When slots were first proposed in Maryland, proponents of gambling claimed they were needed to save our majestic history of horse-racing. Indeed, today The Daily Record's Alexander Pyles reminded readers of this phony-baloney argument to bring gambling to Maryland:
DAILY RECORD: There’s little doubt that legalizing slots gambling was first proposed as a method to prop up the state’s flagging race horse industry. Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich made it one of his legislative priorities each year he was in office....
In 2006, The Washington Post reported that then-Gov.-elect Martin O’Malley also called for slots to be placed at racetracks in the state. The reason? The money would help prevent the “collapse” of the the racing industry....
THE PREAKNESS? ISN'T THAT KINDA RANDOM? - Indeed, Maryland Juice has been to the Preakness, and its lovely! The annual event gives attendees a wonderful excuse to wear lavish hats to the racetracks, while sippin' on "black eyed susans."Take, for example, the image to the right from the 2011 Preakness. Baltimore Sun photographer Monica Lopossay captured this dapper couple decked out in elegant Preakness fashion.
An interesting question, however, is out of all the booze-filled parties in Maryland, why does this one in particular warrant statewide referenda, subsidies, and gambling? Is any one-day party really worth pushing residents to mindlessly drop millions of dollars worth of quarters into Caesars' slot machines?
Moreover, using the Preakness as an argument to promote gambling was always fishy. Indeed, it is quite manipulative to conjure up state pride and fond memories of ye olden times. But have you been to the Preakness lately? If not, here are a few photos The Baltimore Sun didn't include. They are from the 2010 Preakness and were posted by Chiara Atik at the Guest of a Guest blog:
YAY! WE SAVED THE PREAKNESS! - I don't mean to bash on The Preakness or booze-filled partiers per se, but I DO mean to bash on the idea that we should pull millions of dollars out of Maryland consumers' pockets in order to save the party above. But it is sort of a moot point now, because the horsetracks now have slot revenues pouring in, with millions more coming online soon. Last month, Barry Rascovar noted in the Carroll County Times (excerpt below):
