Maryland hearings on slots under way

Stephen Manning

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003 | 9:23 a.m.

FORT WASHINGTON, Md. -- The owners of Rosecroft Raceway made a pitch Tuesday to state lawmakers for new legislation to legalize slot machines at horse tracks, the same day a House committee opened a round of public hearings on slots.

Hosting members of the House Ways and Means Committee at the Prince George's County harness track, Rosecroft officials said slot machines would fuel a $250 million renovation and help the ailing track compete with those in nearby states.

Rosecroft CEO Tom Chuckas said plans are ready for a new facility centered around 3,500 slot machines, complete with a new grandstand, restaurants and, possibly, a hotel.

But the development won't happen unless the legislature, which failed to pass Gov. Robert Ehrlich's proposal last year, gives slots a second chance.

"The legislature has to decide if gaming is coming to the state and race tracks," said Chuckas after lunch and a tour of the track. "It (the renovation) won't happen without slots."

The Ways and Means committee would review any new legislation for slot machines in Maryland. Some lawmakers have proposed allowing slots at sites other than tracks, such as resorts or the state fairgrounds in Baltimore County.

Committee chairwoman Sheila Hixson, D-Montgomery, said no decisions have been made on any new slots bills. She said the committee was taking the issue "a day at a time."

About 150 people gathered, meanwhile, at Prince George's County Community College in Largo for the first of at least four hearings statewide on the future of slots. Racing and business groups have said slot machines would bring revenue into the state to prop up horse racing and provide much-needed funding for schools.

Rep. Albert Wynn, who represents the area around Rosecroft, said slots shouldn't be limited to racetracks if they are approved.

Wynn said there should be two types of licenses, one for tracks and another for casinos at hotels and resorts that would attract gamblers from outside the area. The proposed National Harbor development along the Potomac River in Prince George's, which includes a massive hotel, could be one of those sites, Wynn said.

"Whenever destination gambling is introduced, it creates jobs and generates significant revenues," Wynn said.

Not all welcomed the prospects of slots anywhere.

Laurel resident Marilyn Schactman said she feared slots at Laurel Park would burden the area with crime, traffic and other problems. She wondered why the state would help the sagging racing industry.

"I don't see why we should support an industry that is failing," she said. "If it is dying, let it die."

Rosecroft has been forced to lower its purses recently, and a $55 million exclusive sale agreement with Indianapolis-based Centaur that would have propped up those awards is in jeopardy.

Centaur is involved in a court fight to break a partnership it signed this spring with Buffalo-based Delaware North Cos. to buy the track. Centaur has until Nov. 1 to get approval from state regulators for the sale or the deal is off.

Rosecroft presented committee members with drawings of a 400,000-square-foot grandstand and gambling hub based around slots the track hopes to build if the machines are approved. It would be a "destination" resort that would attract gamblers from around the area, Chuckas said.

The structure, complete with a four- to six-level parking garage, would be four times larger than the current building at the track. Plans call for a hotel and a golf course around the track's perimeter. Roads around the track would have to be widened to accommodate the extra traffic.

"Rosecroft must and will create a destination facility," Chuckas said.