Observers predict slot machines will come to state

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001 | 9:24 a.m.

BALTIMORE -- Supporters and opponents of expanded gambling in Maryland predict that the approval of a horse racing track in western Maryland eventually will lead to slot machines at the state's tracks.

Montgomery County developer William Rickman Jr. was given approval by the Maryland Racing Commission Tuesday to open a track near Little Orleans, in Allegany County. Rickman also owns Delaware Park in Wilmington, where slots have been a big success.

Although Rickman has said he is not pushing for slots at his new track, people on both sides of the issue are questioning whether it can survive without them.

"It's the first step for slots in western Maryland," said Sen. Thomas Bromwell, D-Baltimore County, the chairman of the Finance Committee.

"Would you build a track in Western Maryland without slot machines?" he asked.

Bromwell and other slot supporters argue that Marylanders are being lured to tracks with slots in Delaware and West Virginia, draining money that could pay for state services.

Opponents, who fear that the next step after slots would be full-fledged casinos, say the new track would not be viable without expanded gambling.