The Day It All Changed

Front page of the Baltimore Sun "O'Malley sees slots as savior of racing" This is ground breaking news! We have all heard the rumors, that a slots deal has been in the works. But we have heard this for the last five years. Today it all changed. Front page of the Baltimore Sun, and and other article in the Washington Post, O'Malley Aide to Assess Nearby Racetracks. The Governors PR machine is rolling.

The details:

"The racing industry and the jobs and the open space that is used by the racing industry - all these things are threatened by their inability to compete with tracks in states around us who are able to offer slots," O'Malley said during a news conference. "We can't expect them to thrive, or even survive, ... if we handicap them and don't allow them the tools that the tracks in all the other states are using." [Baltimore Sun]

"We want to look at our competition in other states, to see why it is they've been able to infuse their racing industries with new life," O'Malley said.The planned trips to Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- states that fuel their horse-racing purses with revenue from slot machines on site -- are the strongest public signal to date that O'Malley is seriously considering expanded gambling.[Washington Post]

This morning on talk radio I heard two different members of the state legislature speak about a special session in October to pass a slot machine bill. This is very exciting! Lets keep our fingers crossed that things will continue to move forward, and the best possible plan will be implemented. With a Baltimore City mayoral race coming up in November, it will be interesting to see where everyone stands on slots at Pimlico (located in Baltimore City).

Stay tuned. Lots more to come!