What's cooking at Maryland Racing? Pimlico?

[Igeteven]

I was talking to another member this morning and we were discussing Maryland Racing. Ever since the second leg of the triple crown, nothing has come out regarding that track.

Last time I heard, it's falling apart and nobody is taking care of business there.

Does anyone have any info what's going on in that State?

[cj]

Pimlico is done for the year.

Racing moved to Colonial, but they close next week, the 21st. Laurel races for a few weeks, then there are a few weekends at the state fair at Timonium, then Laurel for the rest of the year.

Maryland has gone from the top of the mid-level tracks to a minor league circuit save a few days each year, and it is mostly due to slots in surrounding areas.

[cj's dad]

Pimlico is done for the year.

Racing moved to Colonial, but they close next week, the 21st. Laurel races for a few weeks, then there are a few weekends at the state fair at Timonium, then Laurel for the rest of the year.

Maryland has gone from the top of the mid-level tracks to a minor league circuit save a few days each year, and it is mostly due to slots in surrounding areas.

Did you mean slots or sluts in the surrounding area (Pimlico)

[JustRalph]

Don't forget.........more slots coming to Arundel Mills.........if they can ever get it finished in court

[cj]

Don't forget.........more slots coming to Arundel Mills.........if they can ever get it finished in court

I haven't followed it lately, but the tracks are against this so I guess it isn't that big of a help to racing, if any at all.

[onefast99]

Don't forget.........more slots coming to Arundel Mills.........if they can ever get it finished in court
Did they give a time-frame?

[JustRalph]

Did they give a time-frame?

The slots at Arundel Mills Group won the latest court decision, but it is going to the State Appeals Court who has smartly forwarded it on their docket and will rule sometime at the end of July or early August. MID and Stronach at trying to kill it with a referendum but they have lost 2 out of 3 court battles so far. Many think that the Slots at Arundel Mills are 18-24 mths away depending on what the court rules at the end of the month.

I think if they start working in the late fall, the construction that is planned for 18 mths will be subject to weather delays etc......so I don't see it really happening for at least 2 yrs.

[thespaah]

Don't forget.........more slots coming to Arundel Mills.........if they can ever get it finished in courtNot knowing where Arundel Mills Mall is located I have a question. How would slots located in a shopping mall help MD racing? Why is it the State is not looking into onsite slots?

[fmolf]

Not knowing where Arundel Mills Mall is located I have a question. How would slots located in a shopping mall help MD racing? Why is it the State is not looking into onsite slots?
If i remember correctly Stronach and friends had a chance to bid on the slots locatio and contract and whether a legitimate oversight or a deliberate withholding of the necessary fees associated with the bids were not forwarded to the proper authorities in a timely fashion so the state awarded them to the Arundel mills group.Someone please correct me if my memeory is not quite accurate!

[cj]

Not knowing where Arundel Mills Mall is located I have a question. How would slots located in a shopping mall help MD racing? Why is it the State is not looking into onsite slots?

I think it is going to be a new place dedicated to slots in the area of Arundel Mills mall. It is near BWI airport, fairly close to Laurel.

[thespaah]

I think it is going to be a new place dedicated to slots in the area of Arundel Mills mall. It is near BWI airport, fairly close to Laurel.
Just googlemapped it... From Laurel to Arundel Mills Mall mall is 76 furlongs....
I mean 9 1/2 miles.

[takeout]

How would slots located in a shopping mall help MD racing? MD racing gets subsidized from slots whether they are at the track or not.

Supposedly they are losing many millions a year by not putting them somewhere, anywhere. I assume that all of the fighting for getting them at the track is more about enriching the track owner than anything else. DeFrancis spent all of his time trying to get them. Then, Magna, when the magic moment finally came, didn’t show up with the dough. Now they want a do-over. This almost rivals the Aqu mess.

[affirmedny]

If i remember correctly Stronach and friends had a chance to bid on the slots locatio and contract and whether a legitimate oversight or a deliberate withholding of the necessary fees associated with the bids were not forwarded to the proper authorities in a timely fashion so the state awarded them to the Arundel mills group.Someone please correct me if my memeory is not quite accurate!

deliberate, they didn't have the dough

[JustRalph]

MD racing gets subsidized from slots whether they are at the track or not.

Supposedly they are losing many millions a year by not putting them somewhere, anywhere. I assume that all of the fighting for getting them at the track is more about enriching the track owner than anything else. DeFrancis spent all of his time trying to get them. Then, Magna, when the magic moment finally came, didn’t show up with the dough. Now they want a do-over. This almost rivals the Aqu mess.

you guys just about have it covered ............ the post above is pretty accurate from what I know of it............

[rastajenk]

This almost rivals the Aqu mess.
Or Ohio.

[InTheRiver68]

MD racing gets subsidized from slots whether they are at the track or not.
But Magna would prefer that the slots be located at the tracks, rather than at a mall 10 miles away. If they're at the track, Magna can make money from operating the slots, and they get the benefit of the foot traffic, too. When they're at the mall, Magna gets money for purses and for "racetrack renewal" (upkeep, building, etc.), and nothing else. Slots at the mall will not benefit Magna NEARLY as much as slots at the track would.

- InTheRiver68

[InTheRiver68]

The sad thing is, while the state of MD, Magna, and Cordish (holders of the license for Arundel Mills) drag this through the courts, three of the four surrounding states (WV, PA, DE) have gone beyond just slots and now have table games. Even when slots are finally up and running (small parlors by the end of this year, bigger parlors no earlier than 18 months from now), the attractiveness of them will have faded in the face of table games.

Maryland (the state, and it's racing industry) has screwed itself over this issue time and time again.

- InTheRiver68

[takeout]

And now MID and Penn Gaming have partnered up. Isn’t that special? :rolleyes:
I wonder which one is the spider and which one is the fly?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-penn-mid-venture-20100507,0,4548499.story?page=1
[snip]
The agreement also means that Penn National will get behind lobbying efforts to defeat slots at Arundel Mills mall through a November voter referendum — which could then open the door for gambling at Laurel to be expanded to include slots.
[snip]

Man I can just see those dollars flying around Annapolis now.

[comet52]

What amazes me is that slots can fuel anything. I don't get the appeal. Every time I ever sat down at a slot machine, I lost all the money and/or got bored within 10 minutes. It's the dullest form of gambling I ever tried. Totally uninteresting.

[Igeteven]

What amazes me is that slots can fuel anything. I don't get the appeal. Every time I ever sat down at a slot machine, I lost all the money and/or got bored within 10 minutes. It's the dullest form of gambling I ever tried. Totally uninteresting.

You are not alone on this, I only lasted 5 minutes, I can't figure for one minute the mind of a slot player watching a bunch of pictures going up and down and winning nothing.

We all complain about the take out, take a hard look at the slots.

Also, they keep 45 cents on the dollar, why on earth do you think they want them in, money, I don't care what ever anyone says, it's true.

[cj]

You are not alone on this, I only lasted 5 minutes, I can't figure for one minute the mind of a slot player watching a bunch of pictures going up and down and winning nothing.

We all complain about the take out, take a hard look at the slots.

Also, they keep 45 cents on the dollar, why on earth do you think they want them in, money, I don't care what ever anyone says, it's true.

I hate slots, never understood the appeal, but people seem to like them. For the record, I don't think they keep anywhere near 45 cents on the dollar. You shouldn't just make stuff up.

[castaway01]

I hate slots, never understood the appeal, but people seem to like them. For the record, I don't think they keep anywhere near 45 cents on the dollar. You shouldn't just make stuff up.

It really depends on the state and type of machine, but slot machines average a return of about 92 cents for every dollar bet. So I guess that would be about an 8% takeout. To be fair to racing, you get to choose what races you want to play but you have to bet on every pull of the slot machine handle.

http://americancasinoguide.com/SlotPayback/slotinfo.shtml (http://http://americancasinoguide.com/SlotPayback/slotinfo.shtml)

[takeout]

Maryland Jockey Club wins appeal; slots referendum back on
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2010/07/19/daily15.html

Maryland’s highest court has ruled that Anne Arundel County voters can decide whether to allow a slots parlor at Arundel Mills Mall.
[snip]

Comment: Funny how these things turn on a dime, isn’t it? And gee… only a couple of weeks after the Maryland Jockey Club partners with Penn Gaming. What a co-inkeedink.

Maryland horseplayers can get ready for a bigger version of Charles Town. You have my sympathy.

[thespaah]

What amazes me is that slots can fuel anything. I don't get the appeal. Every time I ever sat down at a slot machine, I lost all the money and/or got bored within 10 minutes. It's the dullest form of gambling I ever tried. Totally uninteresting. It's mindless. I have no clue why slots are so popular.

[JustRalph]

Maryland Jockey Club wins appeal; slots referendum back on
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2010/07/19/daily15.html

Maryland’s highest court has ruled that Anne Arundel County voters can decide whether to allow a slots parlor at Arundel Mills Mall.
[snip]

Comment: Funny how these things turn on a dime, isn’t it? And gee… only a couple of weeks after the Maryland Jockey Club partners with Penn Gaming. What a co-inkeedink.

Maryland horseplayers can get ready for a bigger version of Charles Town. You have my sympathy.

This is a huge victory for Stronach..........I don't know whether it is good for Racing, but I don't approve of anything that gives money to Stronach

[takeout]

Me either. :bang:

OTOH, one has to wonder what he may have signed away this time. Remember that ludicrous slot deal with DeFrancis? I’m thinking that somewhere down the road PNG is liable to end up with all of the marbles. It’ll be a train wreck either way.

[takeout]

Our Say: Voters get second stab at deciding where to put slots
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/opn/2010/07/25-08/Our-Say-Voters-get-second-stab-at-deciding-where-to-put-slots.html

[trackrat59]

It's mindless. I have no clue why slots are so popular.

I'm making an observation here. Playing slots is simple. Put money in, pull handle or press button, done. You don't have to really know anything to play them. Anyone can do it. Slots are also very visual; bells, colors, noise and each machine has a theme. It draws folks in.

I don't play slots but when I go to Vegas or AC I'll lose my usual $20 in a few slot machines and I'm done.

[takeout]

I don’t think slots should be at tracks. If racinos were sincere about trying to get some new horseplayers from the slot traffic (an odd notion to begin with) they wouldn’t make their customers walk through a couple of thousand slot machines to get to the track part. It would be the other way around.

[Tampa Russ]

Me either. :bang:

OTOH, one has to wonder what he may have signed away this time. Remember that ludicrous slot deal with DeFrancis? I’m thinking that somewhere down the road PNG is liable to end up with all of the marbles. It’ll be a train wreck either way.

PNG has the cash to wage the battle, and a long fight it is likely to be. The biggest hurdle will be to get the "state take" reduced. As is, I thinks it's almost impossible to actually show a profit from a casino in MD. Pretty much the same situation that GP and CRC faced in FL.

It will also be pretty entertaining to watch O'Malley and Ehrlich spin the Arundel Mills slots thing during the campaign.

[bane]

Slots bring a lot more old people to the track that are looking to do something with their money and time.

I still think it's some of the last things we need.

Racing needs to get more creative...

[proximity]

And now MID and Penn Gaming have partnered up. Isn’t that special? :rolleyes:
I wonder which one is the spider and which one is the fly?
.

so far penn national hasn't impressed me with how they're handling the table games.

they shouldn't have opened at charles town with only a handful of licensed dealers. and why am i forced to play $25 blackjack at penn national when half the tables are closed?

penn national does at least somewhat push racing though by showing live racing on the enormous tv at the hollywood on the roof bar and advertising the governor's cup (?) on the sides of some slot machines.