Coming in 2013 - Maryland B&M Poker

[mdpokerconnection]

Been following this for a while and finally had to get involved in the discussion...

In the past few weeks there has not been a lot of pro-gambling talk in the local media, especially given the obvious that nobody, even those in favor, would have preferred for this to be settled through a forced special session. Also, the addition of table games, seemingly the measure with the most support, has been tied up in the controversy over the PG casino and the 67% slots tax rate.

This is the only supportive op/ed piece I have found and, while good, it still falls a bit short - http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opi...,3483752.story

At the same time there are morons who have no clue writing things like this - http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opi...,3258394.story

If the special session goes through and no progress is made on at least bringing table games to Maryland, especially if it's due to political bickering, I will be incredibly disappointed in my home state and will continue taking my business to Delaware Park.

Personally I plan on writing a letter to Sen. Katherine Klausmeier of my own Baltimore County to: (1) voice support for poker / table games, (2) reinforce how far behind MD is to neighboring states and how many MD poker players are forced to play out of state or in less secure underground/home games, and (3) suggest that MD casinos be allowed to operate at a fair profit margin in order to ensure their long-term quality of business and likelihood to reinvest in the state, rather than taxing them into the ground and creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of rundown and unsafe facilities that most anti-casino folks always foresee.

FYI, Klausmeier is likely already on our side, as she is the one who sponsored the table games bill back in early 2011. (http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...s+Journal%2529)

[daveko6911]

Maryland literally just said screw it, lets go for everything while we have the session...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...,2789392.story

Of course Cordish is for National Harbor if they allow internet gambling...OF COURSE...

[TAFFYMAN]

So this cordish guy thinks that by inserting internet gaming into the vote it will effectively kill the bill thereby leaving himself with the only location south of Baltimore. However if the bill dies then guess what anyone who wants to gamble on anything but slot machines is STILL going to WV Pa De or NJ. **** it lets get internet gaming too. I hope this backfires on MR Cordish

[zerosum79]

Originally Posted by TAFFYMAN

So this cordish guy thinks that by inserting internet gaming into the vote it will effectively kill the bill thereby leaving himself with the only location south of Baltimore. However if the bill dies then guess what anyone who wants to gamble on anything but slot machines is STILL going to WV Pa De or NJ. **** it lets get internet gaming too. I hope this backfires on MR Cordish

Based on a brief look at the MD Live website I would actually be shocked if Cordish did not really want internet gambling. They have already set up a free money gaming site and it is obvious that they are gearing it toward being ready for real money play if and when it is legalized.

My guess is that this is actually a concession he is asking for to allow national harbor and that he would not insert it if he did not think it was possible to get it passed. If they are positioned best to offer online games I think he will benefit significantly from this move.

This is if anything this seems to be a great sign to me.

zero

[mdpokerconnection]

Update: Senators reluctant to take up Internet gambling: Key panel members say there isn't time to weigh impact

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...,3014756.story

Summary:
House Speaker Busch: brought the idea up
Gov. O'Malley: now seems okay with the idea, though earlier in 2011 wrote to congress saying online poker would hurt our state lottery revenues
Sen. Kasemayer: "reluctant to deal with Internet gambling next week because there are many unanswered questions."
Sen. Prez Miller: no comment on iPoker yet, but wants special session done in 3 days
Sen. Manno: "'It just seems to open up a can of worms,'"
Sen. Jones-Rodwell: "'I don't know how you can control it for individuals under 21,'"
Sen. McFaddemn: "'It may be a bit of overkill,'"
House Minority Leader O'Donnell: "'To do this in a special session and make decisions, it's horrible,'"; "'It just seems like gambling proliferation on steroids,'"
Sen Minority Whip Reilly: "'It could be going into every single household and electronic device in a hurry and we have to take our time and look at it,'"
Del. Jon Cardin: "said the state might already be losing revenue to Internet gambling on offshore websites."; "'Let's figure out a way to keep it under our umbrella,'"

So mostly a lot of negative thinkers, but at least Cardin has some clue about the reality of the situation. It's going to be tight to squeeze this in at the last minute, but I'm remaining optimistic and encouraging folks to find and contact your reps: http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/0...tml/gadel.html

Table games in MD would be awesome. Online poker coming out of this as well would be freaking phenomenal.

[mdpokerconnection]

Got a response from Sen. Katherine Klausmeier this past weekend...

First, my email to her:

Senator Klausmeier,

I am writing to you as a resident of Baltimore County and a recreational poker player who would very much like to see Maryland catch up with our neighboring states by bringing table games to our new and existing casinos. I have been very pleased to see you sponsoring and supporting such initiatives, and I hope that you can stress how clearly beneficial the table games component could be during the upcoming special session. In following the news leading up to this controversial meeting, my main concern is that the heated debates over the National Harbor casino and 67% slots tax rate, as well as some political posturing, could interfere with any progress being made on table games. Personally I know many Maryland poker players who are still remaining optimistic that, despite the less preferred legislative process, some good will come out of all of this.

Recently I have formed the Maryland Poker Connection (http://www.mdpokerconnection.com) as a web resource for news and discussions on Maryland table games, specifically poker. Additionally, we represent a fairly substantial group of Maryland residents who would further like to see (1) the official decriminalization of friendly home card games, as well as (2) either state legislation or acceptance of potential federal legislation (which has been in the works and was criticized by Governor O'Malley) that would allow for the legalization and regulation of online poker. I will not take more of your time in discussing these at length now, but perhaps you could keep them in mind for the future.

Please let me know if there is anything I and my fellow poker enthusiasts can do to advance our cause in the coming weeks, or to assist you in preparing for the special session hearings.

Thank you for your time, as well as for all your past, present, and future support,

...


Response:

Thank you for your information. I will share it with poker players that share you enthusiasm. As far as doing what you can ask your group to share their feelings with their legislators just have you have done. I have done everything I possibly can to get table games in Maryland. As for in home games that is something to work on in the future. Again, Thanks for your thoughts. Keep in touch.

Kathy Klausmeier

[zerosum79]

Originally Posted by mdpokerconnection

Table games in MD would be awesome. Online poker coming out of this as well would be freaking phenomenal.

Its pretty insane that MD is actually considering this since they were so behind on getting casinos at all. This could be the single reason that I don't end up moving back to VA like I was planning.

zero

[mdpokerconnection]

Not to mention that a year ago O'Malley was asking Congress to get online poker bills off the agenda, saying it'll harm MD's lottery and slots revenues (http://www.pokernewsreport.com/onlin...l-lottery-5411)

He seems to be remaining silent on the Internet gambling idea for now, but I think the fact that he hasn't come immediately out against it is a good sign. He could very well flip-flop on this without the blink of an eye, same as he did with slots. Whatever brings in more money and makes him look good.

[Lottery Larry]

Originally Posted by mdpokerconnection

a fairly substantial group of Maryland residents who would further like to see (1) the official decriminalization of friendly home card games,

Ye godz, I hadn't been paying attention. It's still criminalized in MD? Or is it just the underground rooms?

Response:

Seems as if that's a typical weaksauce response... any feeling on whether anything valuable is behind it?

[Lottery Larry]

Originally Posted by daveko6911

Maryland literally just said screw it, lets go for everything while we have the session...

This seems similar to what PA went through, though not as far as online. Though there were some temporary setbacks... you can see where we are now.

Hold onto those hopes, MD'ers!

[mdpokerconnection]

Originally Posted by Lottery Larry

Ye godz, I hadn't been paying attention. It's still criminalized in MD? Or is it just the underground rooms?

Gambling is covered in Title 12 (statewide) and 13 (county provisions) of MD's criminal laws. They are old, ambiguous, and only mention the word "poker" in reference to using poker chips. Basically the result is that even non-raked home poker games would constitute illegal gambling, but for the most part it is the raked club game busts that occasionally make the news. Here's a snippet from my Maryland Poker Laws page showing just how ridiculous the current guidelines in Baltimore County are:

"Each county in Maryland has even more specific codes. For instance, in Baltimore County I would be able to conduct a monthly (no more than once a month) poker game of no more than $10 per person if I were to obtain a permit from the Department of Permits and Development Management, give proof that it was operated within some sort of organization (religious, fraternal, civic, etc.), and afterwards provide the DoPDM a financial report listing all receipts and expenditures." (http://mdpokerconnection.com/wp/poke...nd-poker-laws/)

Originally Posted by Lottery Larry

Seems as if that's a typical weaksauce response... any feeling on whether anything valuable is behind it?

I think the fact that she had a spelling mistake in there shows that this is an actual personally-typed response and not the usual form response that you get from most elected officials, so that's at least nice. Klausmeier has been the leading sponsor of quite a few table games bills, though obviously she doesn't promote herself as being pro-poker or anything. Still I think she understands poker's popularity and that it would be common sense to offer it in Maryland casinos.

Delegate Jon Cardin from Baltimore County recently was the only quoted legislator to seem to think that legalizing online poker would make sense. These two combined are making me proud to live in Baltimore County

[sba9630]

Internet gaming won’t be in Maryland gambling mix [washingtonpost.com]

Gaming over the Internet won’t be included in any gambling legislation advanced by the Maryland House of Delegates, the senior aide to Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said Tuesday.

[mdpokerconnection]

Bummer, but not surprising. They'll have enough to handle with all the PG casino and slots tax controversy. To throw in an issue that the majority are totally ignorant of at the last minute would have likely been chaos.

The questions now are what are the next means through which iPoker could work its way back into the agenda? Is it worth pushing for or is federal progess more likely to happen first? Originally I would've thought MD under O'Malley would surely be one of the opt-out states if such federal legislation came about. Are MD officials warming up to online poker now?

[mdpokerconnection]

Draft of bill is finally available, about to start reading through - http://www.governor.maryland.gov/doc...GamingBill.pdf

FAQ on O'Malley's page - http://www.governor.maryland.gov/session.asp

[mdpokerconnection]

Just read through. Here are some main points:

1) If the table games provision goes through and gets the majority vote in November, then “it is estimated that Maryland could have table games by early 2013.” (let's hope OP was right!)
2) Whether or not a casino is added in PG County would be up to the voters. The potential location would be up for competitive bids.
3) A new Gaming Commission would be created as an expansion of the State Lottery Agency to handle both lottery and gaming issues.
4) As far as the controversial tax rate issue goes, if the PG casino is added, both Maryland Live! and the Baltimore City casino would be allowed to keep an extra 5% of their profits (slots revenue tax decrease from 67% to 62% it appears).