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Wealth drives 'no' vote on slots

MARYLAND – As reported by the Baltimore Sun: "Stewart Bainum Jr., who fought the Maryland lottery as a state lawmaker, left politics more than two decades ago. But the multimillionaire and hotel magnate is still playing a role in the debate over gambling in Maryland - he recently cut a $10,000 check to an organization that's working to sway voters against slot machines in the November referendum.

"Bainum, chairman of Choice Hotels International Inc., is part of a small crowd of well-heeled donors that the anti-slots movement is counting on for funding.

"The group, which also includes prominent developers and the widow of an industrialist, is an eclectic one.

"Each has his or her own reason for opposing slots, whether a moral or religious qualm or an intellectual objection to funding government through an industry accused of preying on the poor. They do have one thing in common: the financial wherewithal to get their viewpoints heard.

"…The money behind the slots debate will become a critical factor in the coming months as the rhetoric is likely to heat up and hit the television airwaves.

"…In Maryland, the slots campaign has some high-profile backers. Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, supports the referendum. Penn National Gaming Inc., which owns Charles Town Races and Slots in West Virginia and other gambling venues in the United States and Canada, recently promised financial backing. And the group leading the pro-slots effort can count on money and manpower from labor unions and the state Chamber of Commerce, which have endorsed it…"

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