Massachusetts is in the midst of debates over the legality of slots gambling. There are some interesting happenings in the arguments though. Representative Daniel Winslow recently stated that slots are already legal and the state should recognize this. He believes the debates over the games are moot because they are already more than ready to serve the state and its money- generating initiatives. There are stipulations though. Winslow believes that the games are legal for non- profit organizations to operate and if the money is going to charity organizations. Right now the laws are sketchy and he states that because there is no delineation of what the games can be for, charitable organizations do not fall into that category. The law does not state whether or not the games are legal, but it offers them to charities to utilize for their own purposes. This window in the law is what Winslow is focused on. He states that broad law is what legislators should focus on and let it open the door for gambling to be brought into the state. The state already uses its Las Vegas Night and has a bill built around it. This bill opens the door for the machine to help charities out. His argument is that if the games are allowed for charity, then they have to be allowed- period. This is a critical time for the state because of the hefty debates over the games and gambling in general. State legislators are fighting it out though to see whether or not that argument holds up for them to approve the games fully.

Of course the governor has been fighting against slots gambling in the state. Governor Duval Patrick has made no secret of his own feelings on the games at race tracks. He would however, allow them at the resort casinos in the state. Right now the debate though is in the hands of Attorney General Martha Coakley who may have to step in and look at the argument to see if the games are already legalized, or if they are not. Coakley thus far has not made a determination but Winslow is confident that the law is the law and will sustain his argument over time to allow slots legally into the state as a whole.

In the state of Maryland there have been many gambling initiatives. The market is open wide in the northeastern part of the US right now. Formerly it was Atlantic City that had the hold on the slots market. In the past if you were traveling to that part of the country there was no better place than Atlantic City to find slots parlor to keep you busy. The games here were highly developed and the city even built itself up to the Las Vegas level of excitement for gamblers. The market took a huge hit post-recession though. Now Atlantic City is a location that is having a problem with change. The market has completely shifted in the area and now there are other contenders for the title of best gaming in the area. This is where other states are stepping up their slots gaming plans. The fact is that slots gambling is a billion dollar business and bringing in a lot of new customers to the market as a result. This means that there are plenty of options with the games right now. If you go to the Northeastern part of the US you are going to find that there are plenty of different options for you to choose from. States neighboring New Jersey are all pushing for their own gambling marks on the world. They know that Atlantic City’s missteps are their opportunities for the future of growth in gaming.

There may be some problems though. Maryland has made the latest move to be a big leader in the world of gaming but there are some problems. Early on the state’s gambling experts projected the numbers. They anticipated a certain level of performance but that is not happening. For example, the Hollywood Casino in Perryville was projected to bring in revenue of just over $210 per day per slot, however that is not what has been happening. Though experts believed that would be coming in, in the end the slots are only bringing just over $180 per game per day. That may seem like a small amount, but considering that there are over 1,500 games on the casino’s floor it adds up. There are many problems in the market right now and only time will tell what happens with the slots and the state of Maryland.

The state of Massachusetts is still in the midst of debates over slots gaming. The games are popular- no one can debate that. Slots in a lot of ways are saving the market. During the recession many people had to cut back on gambling due to not having discretionary funds to work with. This caused a lot of problems for the market of gambling. Casinos were suddenly stifled and bringing in only a fraction of the revenue they relied on, in. This made it that much harder for them to survive. A lot of casinos have had to go through serious revamping and cutbacks to sustain their businesses in the market. Massachusetts legislators have long been toying with the legality of gambling and trying to use it to create a money-generating activity for the state to take advantage of. Governor Duval Patrick has not been on the same page though. He has made it clear that he is not willing to open the door for slots gaming to come in. He is getting a lot of challenges though. Other politicians are requesting that he revisits the issue and contemplates using slots as a way of turning the market around. No one can debate the fact that slots are powerful. Politicians in support of them are holding to the changes they can bring. Not only do slots bring in huge dollars, but they also bring in the possibility of new jobs. That dual benefit is something that legislators want to never take for granted.

Last year Governor Patrick vetoed a bill that was to make slot machines legal. He believes that there are still a lot of detrimental repercussions of allowing slots into the state. His position is staunch, but other pro-gambling politicians are not letting go of the issue. They know that slots gaming could potentially bring millions into the state and reinvigorate it that much quicker. The job possibility from building slots parlors is something that state legislators are hoping for. With a good creation of jobs it could drastically cut down on the number of people who are suffering financially and change the market completely.

There are still problems for Maryland and its Anne Arundel County project for a gaming center. The location is set to be one of the biggest slots parlors in the area and bring Maryland a huge revenue base. This is part of the problem with the market right now—states all over are looking to capitalize on the slots’ popularity. Slot machines have a huge power in the world right now because of how many millions of gamers gravitate towards them. The games have a mass appeal that no other games on the casino floor have. Consider that to play poker could take years. Not that poker isn’t accessible, but if a gamer wants to get good at it he or she can count on spending at least a few months working on a strategy and a skill level. Without strategy and skill a poker gamer is going to have few successes at gaming. This is part of the issue with table game—to win, you have to be committed to the games enough to spend whatever time it takes to get good at them. On the other hand you have slots that require no special skill or learning curve to them. Anyone can start playing a slot machine and have the same chances of a great win as another person who has been playing for years. This characteristic of games is one thing that is growing their overall mass appeal to gamblers.

There are some criticisms with the games though. Namely it is Maryland officials who are questioning the approval of the Anne Arundel project. They believe that the heavily populated area is inevitably going to have problems with the foot traffic and added automobile traffic now. The state has yet to come up with a workable implementation plan for a new casino. Cordish Cos was given the approval for the slots parlor without thinking through all of the issue that are going to affect the area—or so say anti-gambling proponents. They believe that once the casino is up and running it could create more problems for the area. Though legislators may benefit from huge tax revenue dollars, anti-gambling activists want to know at what cost was the decision made.

Massachusetts’ House Speaker DeLeo has long been a proponent of bringing slot machines to race tracks throughout the state. He recognizes that slots gaming has a huge power right now. In a survey done a few months ago, Las Vegas operators realized that though they believed their table games to be the big money makers, it was actually their slots games that were bringing in the biggest revenue dollars. For example, a good table game can bring in $10,000 twice a week. Upon first inspection it may seem that the table is a top-dollar revenue builder and casino operators were putting a lot of their focus and energy into the game. After the study though, things were truly brought to light. Sure the casinos were operating a few big-dollar tables, but slots games were bringing in twice as much consistently. Consider that if a casino had one-hundred slots games bringing in on average $0.50 per spin at a rate of 100 spins per hour. That fleet of one-hundred machines are bringing in on average $5,000 per hour. Initially it may seem that they are bringing in just fifty-cents or a dollar here and there, but when you add it all up, it quickly becomes apparent how much the games bring in. Plus they are only growing in popularity and that is pushing their value to the casino gaming market up that much quicker. You are going to love the games and so do millions of other wagerers for their own reasons.

This is a fact that is not beyond DeLeo. He sees the dying racing market and has been trying to use the power of slots games to revive it. It could be because of his personal investment of the issue though and critics are citing that as his main push. His father was an employee for years of Suffolk Downs and two of the biggest race tracks are currently in DeLeo’s district. This could make for a good reason he is pushing for the changes and some anti-slots and anti-gambling activists are calling him out for a vested interest in the changes. He may have to take a step back if he cannot consistently prove that bringing slots gaming to the race tracks are a state-wide benefit and not just for his own benefit.

Maryland is again looking for some help when it comes to slots gaming. The state’s legislators are pushing for a bidder to bring the games into their Rocky Gap Casino. Right now the state’s Senator Edwards is citing that their request to bring slots in is filed under an “emergency bill.” This means that if it is passed by the senate, it could take immediate effect. For an emergency bill to pass it needs a two-thirds majority vote. This is perhaps a sign of just how lucrative the slots are. Now that everyone knows how much money they can bring in, legislators are pushing hard for them to come in to their markets. The state even is willing to waive its $3-million fee for licensing that thus far has been charged to every other slots gaming business. This is a sign of how eager legislators are to bring in slots gambling. Right now the Rocky Gap has approval to operate 1,500 slots games. The state is also agreeing to reduce their overall cut of the revenue being brought in by the games too. They are taking their percentage down to 2.5% for the initial five years of operations. Other gambling locations in the state contribute as high as 65% of their annual revenues. This disparity of those taxation laws are creating a lot of controversy of their own in the market.

Maryland legislators are well aware of how lucrative the games are. This is a sign of where slots are going and how important they are to the states that are allowing them. More and more states are making it easier than ever for gaming locations to bring in slots gambling. No other games are as worry-free. Unlike other table games, slots require no person to manage them. They are games that can be managed by just the gamer. With a poker game or a blackjack table, casinos have to employ more dealers to work with each game. Slots can be brought in and they still are self-sustaining games. This is part of the reason why so many games are popular and why legislators love the games. Expect more legislators to continue to push for the games and reap the financial benefits of them one by one.

Slots machine licensing for the state of Maryland is still developing. It is no secret that the games are highly advantageous and now companies are pining for the 5 existing license the state is going to hand out. The General Assembly is requesting changes that would allow a slot machine licenser in the state to obtain two licenses. Right now, every gambling company in the state can hold only one license. Right now the state is using three of its licenses though—Perryville, Ocean City at Ocean Downs and a slots parlor in Anne Arundel County. That still leaves two more for the taking. Of course legislators would love to hand out all 5 licenses to responsible gaming companies. They believe that the slots addition would bring in so much money that they would be able to easily double their tax revenue dollars from slots. This is not a small amount either—slots are huge money makers and with the tax revenue rules, it means multi-millions of dollars for the state on a monthly basis. It could open the door for overcoming the recession’s affects that much sooner. Every state is looking for ways to shore up its revenue stream for the state. They want to bring in as much money as possible because it means a turnaround in the overall market that much sooner.

All three locations for slots gaming in Maryland have had their own successes in the market. They are bringing in more money than originally anticipated. This most likely is the number one reason why state legislators are pushing for more licensing. The rule right now states that no company can have more than one license. They are therefore searching for additional companies to come in and build a slots parlor expansion at the Rocky Gap State Park area. This would work well for the state because it would put slots parlors in all areas of the state. Residents hopefully would have a location they could frequent and bring in that much more cash for the state. Only time will tell who gets that final bid, but most likely the state will continue to revisit the issue as they continue to develop their slots market.

Maryland made waves this past year because of its Hollywood Casino. This was a casino that was debated over for months. There were sides drawn up vehemently on each side and some people never thought it would be built. Then it was. The state finally gave the ok to build the casino in November of 2010. It made a huge showing too. Gamers came out in droves to take advantage of the casino and showed how popular slots are. The slots parlor brought in over $2 million in the first four days of operations and this was a much bigger number than formerly anticipated by gaming experts. This is a sign of how slots have the power to bring in huge dollars. Now that the state of Maryland had success with Hollywood Casino, they are considering bringing in another one. This is quick on the heels of Hollywood and many people were not ready for the change this quickly. Legislators are now stating that in one year they are going to have another slots parlor up and running. They want to have another facility with 2,000 slots available.

Having another casino in the state that is as large as the first one is a sign of how Maryland officials are all for building up their revenue streams and using gambling to do it. The Cordish Cos is set to handle the additional slots parlor’s building. This is a premiere company that can most likely build a casino to compete with the Hollywood Casino location. Remember that location has over 4,700 slots so competition will be fierce in the state among the two locations for slots gaming. Right now things are still in the discussion phase, but that doesn’t mean that it will be for long. The state officials have made it a point to showcase how important it is for them to keep wagering going with the gaming public of the state and neighboring states. Now that Atlantic City’s numbers are down and showing no signs of a turnaround, other neighboring states are ready to take its place. They want to build some of the biggest casinos available, with the most games to play, and bring in the dollars needed for the state’s coffers.

Maryland has been looking into the debate over slots gambling for some time now. It’s no secret that the state, like others, is having a hard time with funding. Legislators have been pushing for some way to turn the market around since the recession. Overall the recession had a hard and long-lasting affect on all markets. It pushed things to a new low. People were left without jobs and no credit. As the recession got worse, creditors closed their doors to borrowers—even those with moderate levels of credit scores. No one was safe at the time and that brought spending to an all time low. Without buyers to fuel their money into the economy, it was hard for businesses to start hiring again. In fact, they had to keep on laying people off and downsizing their businesses. This brought even more problems to the market. Overall slots are the one thing that is supposed to move the market ahead. No other activity can provide the market with the millions of dollars it needs to turn things around.

Maryland is coming to the market with intent to bring gambling to its borders. They already have brought slot machine gambling in. The state wants the games to open the door for recovery. So far the state has gotten a lot of opposition for the plan though. Anti gambling activists are citing that the state needs to keep slots out. They believe that the area where the slots parlor would be built is already over-populated. A new slots parlor would only cause more chaos in the area, making it next to impossible for residents to move throughout their areas. They claim that gambling activists have no after-plan for legalizing slots. Sure they can push the games to legalization, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be other problems coming into the market as a result. It is these problems that are going to hamper the communities involved over the long term. Anti gambling activists are not totally against gambling, but they are pushing for the answers to be found for pending issues prior to rushing through with legalization.

Who says slots parlors aren’t political? It seems now that the pending Anne Arundel county gambling debate is moving quickly into the political arena. Governor Martin O’Malley is now going after former governor Ehrlich for his company’s push to build the slots parlor at Arundel Mills Mall. Interestingly enough, O’Malley is taking flack for his position. Because he does not want slots in the area, does that mean that he is more willing to raise taxes for the voting public? Though O’Malley isn’t answering the question, he did have to dodge the assertion from David Cordish recently. Cordish is part of Cordish Cos—the company scheduled to make the changes for the market if slots are approved. They are the ones who will take the helm at development of the slot parlor.

So far though O’Malley is not taking the question of raising taxes sitting down though. He is pushing an advertising campaign right now that targets the building of Anne Arundel voters. He wants to push for keeping gaming out. He also is accusing Ehrlich of using underhanded tactics. Accusing him of raising taxes to make budgets is a last ditch effort to sully his own campaign, O’Malley stated. He believes that it is all a political move and the former governor needs to stick to more positive changes to make his next moves. It will take a few weeks to see where the voting public stands on the issue. Right now pre-vote polls are showing though that the market is ready for a slots parlor. The public believes that the payback of jobs and revenue are going to e a huge advantage. Now that the question of raising taxes is in the mix too, that is changing things considerably. People are worried that without a slots parlor, they may suffer from higher taxation. This alone is enough to push most residents to opt for the building. It’s no secret that Maryland is suffering financially just like other states and has to come up with some solutions for its issues. Gambling could be the one issue that does not further stress the residents and still brings in the much needed millions.