We Need Slots!!

[DeoVolente]

You know, I heard gun shots the last time I was visiting Pimlico. It was the day before the Preakness and I was walking to the track after parking my car a few blocks away. On site parking is not easy that day. Gun shots are very common in that neighborhood. People getting hit by crossfire 1s common. But usually they are so busy making money in legit ways for Preakness that they behave themselves. Oh well....

It will take hundreds of millions of dollars to turn this track around. The only hope is slot machines at the racetrack. The money won't be generated any other way. And the situation is made even more desperate by the fact that slots are sure to pass this time in PA. Quite frankly, I don't see how PIM can stay open at all if they do not get slots.

The problem is MD has a Republican Gov. and a Democratic controlled legislature. Speaker of the House Michael Busch is
opposed to any assistance for the horse racing industry
whatsoever. He refuses to acknowledge the importance of the
industry at all - well, your read Beyer's article.

If you really feel like you want to help the way to do it is to write to Mike Busch - and get lots of other people to do the same. Not just saying that you are pro slots in MD, but pro slots AT THE TRACK. Busch wants the state to open slots parlors away from the tracksand cut out "greedy track owners." He wants to ignore the 30,000 plus Marylanders who work in the horse industry; he doesn't care if they end up out of work. He doesn't care if they lose their farms to developers. He doesn't care about the Pimlico neighborhood. He only cares about making sure no Republican agenda succeeds,lining his pockets and his pet projects.

You can email Mike Busch to speak your mind here:
michael_busch@house.state.md.us
Or call his office at 410-841-3800

[Kappa]

Originally posted by DeoVolente
[B Quite frankly, I don't see how PIM can stay open at all if they do not get slots.

The problem is MD has a Republican Gov. and a Democratic controlled legislature. Speaker of the House Michael Busch is
opposed to any assistance for the horse racing industry
whatsoever. He refuses to acknowledge the importance of the
industry at all - well, your read Beyer's article.

If you really feel like you want to help the way to do it is to write to Mike Busch - and get lots of other people to do the same. Not just saying that you are pro slots in MD, but pro slots AT THE TRACK. Busch wants the state to open slots parlors away from the tracksand cut out "greedy track owners." He wants to ignore the 30,000 plus Marylanders who work in the horse industry; he doesn't care if they end up out of work. He doesn't care if they lose their farms to developers. He doesn't care about the Pimlico neighborhood. He only cares about making sure no Republican agenda succeeds,lining his pockets and his pet projects.

[/B]

As a Maryland resident and a former Laurel regular, I appreciate your concern about the political situation here. Unfortunately, your arguement is mis-leading. I think slots would have passed last year if the Governor had not insisted that his political contributors reap the lion's share of the pie.

There are a lot of us in Maryland who support racing, but DO NOT want to see Joey DeFrancis rewarded for his mis-management of the racing assets he inherited from his father.

"Quite frankly, I don't see how PIM can stay open at all if they do not get slots." If a business cannot sustain itself, to what extent should the government subsidize it? (Remember, if a potrtion of the slots money does not go to DeFrancis/Magna, then it would be available for other state purposes.)

Just curious, but how many of " 30,000 plus Marylanders who work in the horse industry" who are not breeders, owners or trainers actually make a living wage?

If a horse breeder 'loses' his farm to developers, is it not his decision to sell, and is he not fairly compensated?

These are a few random thoughts, and admittedly, I do not want to see Joey DeFrancis rewarded for his bribes, oops, sorry, political contributions.

[tbald]

[i]
"Quite frankly, I don't see how PIM can stay open at all if they do not get slots." If a business cannot sustain itself, to what extent should the government subsidize it? (Remember, if a potrtion of the slots money does not go to DeFrancis/Magna, then it would be available for other state purposes.)

[/B]


With that in mind, then how many other businesses would not be in business today if not for gov't handouts in the form of tax breaks, sweet-heart lease deals, incubator programs at state colleges and Universities, etc? Most...

How many sports stadiums were built on lottery subsidized handouts? I count 2.

I would hate to see DeFrancis receive the lion's share of the proceeds from slots too. It's time for the Stadium Authority to build that track near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and get Joe out of the picture....

[JustRalph]

Hamilton County (Cincinnati Ohio) implemented a Tax that was approved by the voters to build a stadium for the Bengals and the Reds. The price has skyrocketed over the years and most of Cincy regrets being hauled into this boondoggle. See this article:

http://bengals.enquirer.com/2003/01/31/wwwportune.html

Not to mention that the Reds and Bengals owners are multi Billionaire types who could have built their own stadiums. The fools in Cincy just handed them a giant gift. I would hope that MD wouldn't fall into the same type of quaqmire.

[DeoVolente]

DeFranics IS a bum, but you don't understand the whole story of
what is happenening in MD politics. It would be almost like writing a
a term paper to explain it to you and I haven't time now. For the
moment just take my word for it that you are WAY oversimplifying
and I'll tell you the whole story some other time. The stuff about his
"political contributor's" benefiting too much is false - it's nothing but
another anti-slots spin the Democratic controlled Baltimore Sun
came up with. This is NOT a case of DeFraincis getting rich! Don't
be silly, there are a lot of expenses involved that the tracks would
have to pay out of their share. The state pays NONE of the
business expenses at all.

Do you have a clue who works at the tracks and what they earn?
It's not all grooms and hotwalkers - they are actually a small
percentage! Tellers, security guards, food service, maintenance,
and the TV/Sound people are all UNIONIZED. I known athe uplinks operator, who told me the other day he got a raise. He's
making WELL above average salary for the Baltimore area. About
$12,000 a year above. How about vets, farriers, feed and tack
merchants, administrative personnel.... What percentage make a
living wage? I'd say about 95% do. Most of the grooms I know at
PIM make $375-$400 a week BTW - which in Baltimore IS a living
wage. Especially when you factor in free housing

[DeoVolente]

Now, the history of slot machine politics in Maryland. You read the WHOLE thing. Stuff will seem unimportant at first and you will be tempted to skip it, but trust me - ALL of it matters.


Something that you have to understand about MD first is that there is a highly corrupt good old boy Democratic network in Annapolis that is so ingrained it took MAJOR scandal to unseat it. Well, partially unseat it. But I'm getting ahead of the story.


Our story starts with the Gubernatorial election of 1994. Slots have been approved in both WV and DE at this point. They are a minor issue that both candidates in MD are trying to avoid. The Dem. was Parris (fuck)N. Glendening and the Rep. was a woman named Ellen Sauerbrey (aka Sour Grapes.) In this election the most controversial issue was actually smoking. Glendening supported a public smoking ban. To make a long story short, the polls were so close nobody knew who would win. And so the dead people and people living on vacant lots came out and voted. Truth is, there was nothing abnormal about that in MD. Used to the be that dead people and people living on vacant lots voted in any MD election that looked like it would be close. The abnormal part was the election was still VERY close and Sour Grapes took it to court and tried to get the results overturned and a new vote. Yes, that's where the nickname comes from. The judge, a good old boy Dem. of course, ruled that since there was no way to tell who the dead people and people living on vacant lots voted for they could just as easily have voted Rep. as Dem. and allowed the result to stand. A secondary result is that now in MD you vote on a paper ballot that has your voter registration number on it. No, I am NOT kidding you. Votes can now be identified if the dead people and people living on vacant lots ever have their right to vote challenged again.


So here's good old Parris, all installed in Annapolis with his pretty little politically correct family, beginning all of his speaches with "For the good of the children of Maryland.... " to the point that you either want to puke or go grab him by the throat and explain to him how you as a parent will decide what's good for your child and the state can stay the hell out of it. "For the good of the children of Maryland" we now have a public smoking ban. This has done the children so much good that now their health care and education can't be paid for because there's less smokers to tax. Combine that with Spendening's wreckless tax cuts (yes, a DEM. cut taxes! But chill, he increased them again later.) and increased spending and growth of gov't buracracy and.... but I'm getting ahead of the story again.


In 1995 there's a big schandal about campaign contributions and Glendening. Seems several interest groups over contributed by having relatives do it or whatever. One of these happens to be Joe DeFrancis. Hence the REAL reason why Glendening and DeFrancis don't get along.


Now, "for the good of the children of Baltimore City," the Gov. and then Mayor Schmoke of Baltimore made a nice little back room deal on slots at PIM with the state's share to go to save Baltimore City schools. This was in 1996. Backroom deals are business as usual in MD. Glendening goes off on vacation, and some moron (who should be tarred, feathered, shot, and then hung by the neck until dead with an elasticized rope - and all of that's prob too good for the fucking bum!) from the Mayor's office leaked the story of the deal to the press. And the casino corporation vultures swooped in. They and the press hassled poor old Parris and his perfect little family while they were on vacation. And that is when Glendening threw his temper tantrum and declared there would never be slots in MD as long as he was in office.


And because of that one moron in the Mayor's office who just couldn't keep his damned trap shut Pimlico will never be rebuilt, Laurel will probably close too, half the horse farms in MD will go to developers, 30,000 some people will either have to move or be out of work, and Baltimore City schools now have something like an $85 million dollar deficit.


Boy, it's hard to tell this story chronologically....


Back to 1997 or whatever year it is.... no, I guess we will go to 1998 and the next election. The players are the same - Glendening and Sauerbrey.


Except this time if the dead people and people living on vacant lots vote they will know WHO they voted for. And so at the last minute, when it appears that Sauerbrey may actually win, they concoct a bunch of false commercials saying that Sauerbrey has a voting record in the legislature that's anti-civil rights. Her real voting record is published in all the papers and on the news and so on, but the damage is already done - people remember the flamboyant commercials and either didn't hear/see the truth or ignored it when they did. Parris (fuck)N. Glendening wins his 2nd term in another close election.


And now he is a lame duck. So he doesn't give a shit about anything. This will be the end of his political career and he knows it. So he raises taxes back up. His mistress gets pregnant and he divorces Mrs. Politically Correct and marries the mistress! Yes - Mr. For The Good Of The Children Of MD!!! Mr. family values himself! Oh, what a scandal THAT was. Nothing had rocked Annapolis that much since Marvin Mandel was indited. This scandal was so big it took down a Kennedy by association. Well, that and the horrible way that Spendening left state finances.


But I'm ahead of myself again - these things didn't happen until 2000 and 2002.


The tracks had been given a $10 million subsidy from the lottery funds for purses so they could remain somewhat competitive with the neighboring states that now have huge purse increases from slots - a most unfair advantage. Do you know that $8000 claimers at CT run for a $26,000 purse? In MD they run for a $8500 purse. Yes, the SAME claiming level. $2500 claimers at CT run for more than that - $11,000 purse. Hell, I may as well take my $8K claimer to CT and run him for $5K - it's a $16,000 purse and when he wins and gets claimed I would get $9600 in purse money and the $5000 for the horse. Do you understand the problem now?


But I'm ahead of myself again. Those are today purses, after the subsady was cut because the tracks were having so much infighting. And Glendening had taken up with Bill Rickman - the owner of Delaware Park. Who bought Ocean Downs, the harness track near Ocean City, MD. And who was a candidate for a proposed track in Western MD - up against DeFrancis. And Rickman contributed and pals around with good old Parris and Casper Taylor (I'll get to him in a minute) and Rickman won the right to build the Western MD track. A gift from Glendening most people say - and I agree that they would be right. Glendening was sure that has soon as he was out of office slots would appear, and so he made sure his buddy was in a position to profit from it AND hurt DeFrancis, who had embarrassed him politically (the contribution scandal I touched on above - see how the pieces begin to fall together?)


OK, Cas Taylor. For many, many years Taylor was Speaker of the House in the MD legislature. He's from Cumberland - Western MD. Cas Taylor was pretty much a good man, even though he was part of the good old boy Dem. regime. He really did try to help Western MD a lot and bring them jobs and tourism and stuff. He was the one who wanted a track for the Western MD area to begin with - and he wanted slot machines at it. Everybody pretty much assumed that Cas Taylor would die in the Speaker's chair in Annapolis.


Until the drought. Which brought home big time to the area called Little Orleans just how little water they really had. And they decided that they were NOT going to have a racetrack in their backyard washing horses and flushing toilets while they couldn't drink. The water permit for the future track became a MAJOR political issue. It came out that Taylor had something to do with that permit getting issued off a questionable survey. And there was also some damned gun issue or another.... And down came Cas Taylor, the invincible man. By exactly 76 votes. That's a number I will remember forever, because it is the exact number that slots in MD lost by last year.


Oh, you mean you thought it was decided by the actual lack of vote in the MD house? Ha! You know nothing about MD politics STILL?


When Cas Taylor wasn't reelected the Speaker's position came open and a man named Michael Busch sailed right into it. And Busch came with a lot of grudges against Ehrlich from his days in the MD legislature before he went to Congress. I've already been at this for an hour, so you're not getting a list. Just take my word for it. I'd like to get SOME sleep tonight.


So the showdown was set. Ehrlich vs. Gov. uh, um, I mean Speaker Busch. Rep. vs. Dem. And paybacks are a really big bitch in MD politics. Not only was there bad blood between Ehrlich and Busch, but the Dems. last year were still very divided because some of them had supported Ehrlich in the election. Especially State Senate leader Mike Miller. Who was always pro slots. During the Glendening adiministration it was he who introduced all the slots bills. So Busch was determined that neither Ehrlich nor Miller would get anything they wanted through the House.


But there's more. Ehrlich turns out to be a total incompetant. He hasn't got even the beginings of a slots bill - the very core of his campaign! He slaps together something completely unworkable with the help of DeFrancis & crew (another incompetent moron - the blind leading the blind!) and the legislature goes beserk. The papers have a field day. The whole thing was writen in such a way as the tracks over benefit.


So Ehrlich writes another version that's not much better, and the papers howl again.


So Mike Miller steps in and writes a bill. And THAT is the version that passed the Senate.


Go back and read that again.


It was NOT Ehrlich's bill that went to the House. It was not Ehrlich's bill that Busch stopped the House from voting on. It was Miller's - and it was written with a bare bones minimum for the tracks because the tracks had no input. The tracks were ready to reject it until they realized it was all they were gonna get.


Read that again. The bill that passed the Senate and went to the House was considered by the tracks to have too small a share for them.


Read that a third time - I want to make absolutely sure that you realize that the stuff about unjustly enriching DeFrancis and Stronach was totally bogus.


The bill that went to the house gave about 12% less to the tracks. The tracks screamed bloody murder. But they finally accepted it because they realized it was all they would get. And some is better than none. Even thought they are stuck will all the expenses involved coming out of their share.


So I can't say this enough: the bill that Busch wouldn't allow get to the floor was not the bill that would have "unjustly enriched track owners." He made sure that bill died in committee because he was afraid that the House would pass it and he couldn't let Ehrlich have a victory. He wanted to make sure that Ehrlich accomplished nothing - especially not his major goal.


Why? Because he wants the Gov. nomination from the Dems next time around. We may as well give it to him too - he already runs the state.


So now he wants to make sure that tracks don't get slots because he wants the state to control the money. Now let's think here. Why would a politician want the state to control all the money?


Keep in mind that MD is a pretty corrupt state.... and this guy has been a part of that corruption for a long time and knows where the bodies are burried.... and I think you can make several guesses. And realize that none of that money will ever see its way to students if Busch has his way. As well as the MD racing industry's destruction.


And now it's a few minutes before 7 in the morning and I'm beat. This is far from the full story, there's a lot more backroom deals and scandals and out and out stupidity.


But it IS the truth - which you will never get from the Baltimore Sun.


You want to make a future wager? I'll bet you $1000 that the Baltimore Sun backs Michael Busch as the next Dem. candidate for Gov. of MD. I have never lost a bet on MD politics.

[tbald]

Deo,

Nicely done!! Very interesting read.

I would like to add one thing, if I may. When DeFrancis worked out the deal with Magna to sell 51% of MD Jockey Club, he also created a side deal whereby a seperate company he would set up would receive a robust portion of the slots proceeds.

So, while Magna has the option of buying the rest of MD Jockey Club from the DeFrancis', I think Joe would retain a full ownership of a portion of the slots pie.

And now that I think about it, there are some other players in the company Joe would set up to rake in a nice portion of the slots deal and I think they were part owners of Md Jockey Club before Magna. I wish I had saved the news articles so I could be precise in my spewing.

In the end, some sum of money from slots will go directly into Joe's pocket and the racing industry will not see any benefit from it. That will enrich Joe DeFrancis, undeservedly so.