The Horseshoe Casino

Today, Maryland will open the doors to it's fifth gambling house, The Horseshoe Casino. This latest casino, in downtown Baltimore, is located on Russell Street, a short distance from M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards.

It seems just like yesterday, when Bob Erhlich was Governor, Baltimore's former Mayor Martin Owe'Malley described casinos as a "morally bankrupt" way to fund education*. But now he seems to think that they're the best thing to hit Maryland since the steamed crab. Let's face it, casinos are a cash cow. And if a new casino stops Owe'Malley from raising my taxes for a week, I guess I should be OK with it.

The current Mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, has plans on using tax revenue from the Horseshoe to reduce property taxes and to increase funding for school buildings and recreation centers around the city **. Yeah, I think we've heard this story before. Two years from now, Baltimore will have new financial woes and will be raising those same property taxes to fund education, build new rec centers, blah, blah, blah....

Will there be big money flowing through Baltimore's latest attraction? Without a doubt. However, I expect to see a slew of problems follow closely behind. For instance, the Horseshoe is located a short distance from thousands of low-income residents. These are the very people who should not be gambling. But recent studies tell us that these folks will be very likely to get lured into those ever-elusive slot-machine jackpots. And those most at risk for gambling addiction are low-income/low-education, single black and Hispanic males between the ages of 18 and 29. A quarter of Baltimore's residents already live below the poverty line. What effect will the enticement of thousands of brightly lit slot machines have on these people?

The Horseshoe Casino cost almost a half billion dollars to build. And that will likely be a drop in the bucket to the amount of money it will generate.

And as if Baltimore doesn't have it's share of crime problems, the attraction of people walking in and out of the casino with wads of cash will prove to be a bit too enticing for the average street thug. I can already see unsuspecting tourists getting rolled by moped gangs.The new casino will likely turn into another urban babysitting adventure for many of Baltimore's patrol cops.

And let's not overlook to the traffic issue. With the added congestion due to the casino, can you imagine the backups you're going to hit when the Orioles or Ravens are in town? Tonight, the O's have a game at Camden Yards and there is already a strong urging to use to light rail to get downtown.

The location itself is a bit surprising to me. If you've ever driven into the city via Russell Street, I think you agree that it's not exactly the "scenic route". I guess the planners were trying to capture some that Atlantic City spirit?

Personally, I'm not much of gambler. My idea of "high-rolling" consists of putting $20 on a game of Keno at The Greene Turtle. But if you want to throw some money at a craps table or slots machine, be my guest. But just remember, Maryland might be the "Free State", but be sure to bring your wallet...


kw


* http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-08-22/news/bs-ed-maryland-gambling-20120822_1_casino-backer-convenience-casinos-sixth-casino

** http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/with-the-horseshoe-casino-baltimore-adds-to-the-urban-gambling-jackpot/2014/08/25/3b0ae492-28a3-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html