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Maryland Hosts Casino Execs

MARYLAND – As reported by the Washington Post: "The chairman of one of the world's leading casino resort companies attended last year's Preakness Stakes as a special guest of the state of Maryland, which paid to put him up in a $350-a-night hotel and invited him to join Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. for a private reception at Camden Yards, documents show.

"J. Terrence Lanni, chairman and chief executive of Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage, was among seven corporate executives who accepted an invitation from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development to visit Baltimore in May for the running of the Preakness, part of horse racing's Triple Crown.

"The visit from Lanni, who was accompanied by his wife and the president of MGM's development arm, came while Ehrlich (R) and Maryland lawmakers were at odds over the governor's push to legalize slot machine gambling in the state for the first time since the 1960s.

"Opponents of expanded gambling were stunned by news that the state had played host to the MGM executive -- or any gambling executive -- given the industry's keen interest in Maryland.

"'These guys are already flocking here by the thousands on their own dime,' said House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel).

"…The mailing to Lanni and other Fortune 500 executives was part of an elaborate series of taxpayer-funded parties and sports outings that made last year's Preakness by far the most expensive in state history, according to records obtained under the Maryland Public Information Act…"

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