Three Companies Okayed After Background Check by Maryland Gaming Officials
Maryland plans to issue one casino license for Washington D.C.-adjacent Prince George’s County, and it should go without saying that the battle to be chosen to build a casino in one of the nation’s most-visited tourist destinations is being duked out with some ferocity.
With the state likely to grant the sole casino license before 2013 is out, the process moved one step forward last week, this according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Baltimore meeting okays Penn National, MGM
The purpose of last week’s meeting of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission, held in the city of Baltimore, was to determine whether the three companies vying for the sole license – Penn National, MGM, and Greenwood Racing subsidiary Maryland Casino, LLC – meet with suitability requirements based on background checks performed by Maryland gaming officials.
During last Thursday’s meeting, a unanimous decision approving all three firms to move forward in the process was reached, according to the paper.
Questions surrounded the acceptability of MGM
That ruling no doubt came as a relief to MGM, as certain associations were threatening to sway Maryland gambling regulators against allowing the company follow through with its plans to build a new casino resort complex along the famed Potomac River. If approved by state gaming officials, MGM intends to spend some $800 million constructing their Maryland property.
As to those potentially nefarious connections, one has to do with MGM’s involvement in the Asian gaming capitol of Macau with Pansy Ho, the daughter of gambling industry legend Stanley Ho. The elder Ho is said to have links to Chinese organized crime figures.
In response to concerns surrounding MGM’s past business with Pansy Ho, Maryland officials asked that MGM submit occasional updates as to their Macau business dealings.
The other point of interest in terms of MGM stems from the fact that one of its former board members, Terry Christensen, was convicted on federal wiretapping charges back in 2008. The company is to have no contact with Christenson if it wants to operate in Maryland.
Speaking to his pleasure at the outcome of last Thursday’s meeting chairman of MGM Resorts Jim Murren said, “We are very pleased with the results of the process in Maryland. Our company has undergone similar processes in a number of jurisdictions and we found Maryland’s process to be thorough, comprehensive, and conducted in a fair and professional manner.”
Thumbs up from Maryland seen as very favorable for MGM’s prospects in other states
Analysts see MGM’s clearance of these two particular hurdles in Maryland as having potentially positive effects on its efforts to access casino markets in other states. The company is seeking approval from New Jersey gambling regulators as it looks to join that state’s nascent Internet gambling industry.
MGM is also in the running to grab one of only three licenses for Nevada-style land-based casinos set to be issued early next year by Massachusetts officials. There, such companies as Wynn, Foxwoods, and a host of others are all in the running to capture one of the highly-coveted licenses. An additional license will also be granted next Spring for a slots only parlor in the state.
Some, including Caesars head and native Boston son Gary Loveman, have touted Massachusetts as having the potential to be the next big gambling center in the United States, a possibility that has neighboring Connecticut – home of two major tribal casinos – incredibly worried about the loss of revenue across state lines.
