Penn National Gaming, Gambling Opponents File Suit In Maryland Casino Expansion Battle With MGMReferendum Passed In Favor Of Prince George Property, Table Games |
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Penn National Gaming, who flushed away more than $42 million in its failed protest of an initiative to add another casino to Maryland and legalize table games, has a last-ditch effort in the form of a pending lawsuit to nix the referendum outcome.
Maryland voters approved the plan on Tuesday by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent.
A person associated with the company told The Baltimore Sun that it questions the legality of the referendum. The firm, owner of more than two dozen gambling locations around the country, thinks a majority of “qualified voters” are needed to approve the plan.
Penn National was pitted against the much larger MGM Resorts International on the issue, as both companies are competing for a piece of the fledgling market.
Maryland lawmakers, as well as on the governor, signed off on the bill earlier this year.
Penn National is not alone in its continued fight. According to the Associated Press, eight parties are trying invalidate the plan which allows a casino in Prince George County.
Paradoxically, anti-gambling folks have an ally in Penn National.
Additionally, some critics charge that another casino could over-saturate the market and not benefit the state all that much. Maryland already has a handful of slot casinos.
The Washington Post reported that after it was obvious that the referendum went in favor of gambling expansion, businesses in Prince George’s National Harbor (pictured below) celebrated. The performances of shops and restaurants in the community reportedly have been abysmal, but many hope they can soon exploit gamblers flocking to the area.
Penn National operates a casino in West Virginia about 70 miles from National Harbor, as well as a casino in northern Maryland about 80 miles from National Harbor. However, its Rosecroft Raceway sits in the danger zone just six miles from the likely new MGM spot.
Although an attractive development for lovers of Las Vegas, the paralyzing anxiety for Penn National is that a MGM National Harbor casino would have full-fledged gambling.
While MGM doesn’t have a license yet for Prince George County, Penn National claims that it’s a lock for the company to receive the OK at National Harbor, according to The Washington Post.
As other states take their gambling industries to new heights, Penn National worries it will lose out to the Nevada-based operator on new revenue opportunities provided by the legislation.
Like always, there will be huge winners and huge losers.
While the expensive melodrama of an additional casino in Maryland rages on, poker players in the state can take solace in the fact that traditional live poker games are on their way. Maryland-based poker pro and 2012 WSOP champion Greg Merson said on election night:
Question 7 passed ladies and gents! Time to bring HSNL to the DMV baby!!
— Greg Merson (@Gregy20723) November 7, 2012
The referendum also allows for a Caesars Entertainment Corp. property, slated to open in 2014 in downtown Baltimore, to offer the other games it craves. Even though slot machines are immensely profitable, they don’t appeal as strongly to younger gamblers.
Construction of more carpet joints and/or allowing more types of games at the ones which already exist has become a common strategy among some of the states along the East Coast. As local budgets remain depressed and unemployment figures remain unacceptable, some people in power look to roll the dice with casinos in finding a Band-Aid.
A couple days after the victory, MGM made public that chief executive officer Jim Murren will stay with the company for at least another four years. The agreement was made two days prior to the public vote on the Maryland gambling expansion plan.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
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