Putting slot machines and casino games in Prince George's County would boost Maryland's gambling revenue by $363 million, but at the expense of casinos in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore, according to a state fiscal analysis.
A casino would add $450 million in gambling revenue, assuming it opened by summer 2015, according to the state Department of Legislative Services. However, those gains would be offset by $86.8 million less in revenue from Anne Arundel County, where the Cordish Cos. is building a casino at Arundel Mills mall, and Baltimore, where officials are considering applications for a downtown casino.
In fiscal 2011, their first full year of operation, 2,300 slot machines at two casinos brought in $103.1 million.
Source: Maryland Department of Legislative Services
| Potential impact of a Prince George's casino |
| Revenue from a casino in fiscal 2016 would go to: |
| » Maryland Education Trust Fund: $186.8 million |
| » Casino operator: $180 million |
| » Economic development: $24.8 million |
| » Other: $58.6 million |
| » Total: $450 million |
| » Less revenue in Anne Arundel/Baltimore: $86.8 million |
| » Net revenue: $363.2 million |
The projections don't specify the location of a Prince George's casino, something County Executive Rushern Baker wants to change with his proposal for a high-end casino at National Harbor.
Baker's vision for a Las Vegas-style casino on the Potomac River could generate $309.5 million annually in taxes, including roughly $50 million for the county. Baker envisions 4,750 slot machines, plus table games such as blackjack.
Those figures don't account for the potential billions of dollars in untold tax boosts to the surrounding community, according to Tom Himler, the county's deputy chief administrative officer for budget, finance and administration.
The benefit comes "not just from the site itself, but the opportunity for that site to be an economic catalyst in the region," Baker said at a Senate hearing Wednesday.
Opponents say the circumstances surrounding Baker's proposal, announced last week, raises questions about whether a National Harbor casino is in the best interests of the county.
State Sen. C. Anthony Muse, D-Prince George's County, and County Councilman Obie Patterson, D-Fort Washington, said they were disturbed Baker didn't ask anybody in the community for input.
Muse called the county executive's actions a "direct assault on district courtesy."
"To many of the persons in our district, it gives the appearance of the kind of good-old backroom deals that have plagued Prince George's County," Muse said.
And National Harbor developer Milt Peterson misled the community nearly a decade ago when he emphatically denounced gambling for the facility, Muse said.
Peterson said neither he nor officials with Gaylord Entertainment were ever interested in a slots-only casino.
"When I say that under no circumstances would we ever, ever accept a slots barn or slots parlor at National Harbor, that's what we mean," Peterson said. "Our goal is not to reduce the quality, not to denigrate what we've worked on all these years."
