It was recently reported that the mayor of Baltimore, Martin O'Malley, publicly declared his support for slots at racetracks. The Democratic mayor approved of Aris Melissaratos’ opinion that slots are an important feature at racetracks. Melissaratos is Maryland governor Robert Ehrlich's Business and Economic Development Secretary.
The mayor’s encouragement of slots gained the disapproval of Governor Ehrlich. To make things more interesting, the governor could be up against Mayor O'Malley in the next gubernatorial election. Ehrlich’s spokeswoman, Shareese N. DeLeaver, was reported as saying that the Mayor had been indecisive about the slots matter for years.
O'Malley’s statement regarding slot machines, came in the wake of an announcement made by Magna Entertainment, the proprietor of Pimlico Race Course, that it will no longer subsidize Pimlico, until slots are incorporated. Concurrently, residents of Park Heights neighborhood, which houses the Pimlico racetrack, vigorously oppose O'Malley’s standpoint.
