马里兰博彩业关键的一天

　　公共工程委员会在周三以3比0全票通过在洛基峡兴建一处赌场所需的土地租约和其他条款。

　　博彩扩张工作组秘密召开会议并取得了“艰难的进展”，据会议消息称，工作组预计在下午1点召开公开会议。

　　原帖内容：周三可能是马里兰博彩业关键的一天

　　马里兰州州长马丁.奥玛雷组织的一个工作组预计将召开一次会议最终决定是否能就扩张马里兰州老虎机项目问题达成一致，目前来看，这并不容易。

　　摆在桌面上的问题是可能修建一处新赌场，最有可能的地点是在乔治王子县国家港口，赌场将经营拉斯维加斯模式的桌面游戏，就像该州合法经营的其他五处老虎机场所一样。

　　奥玛雷表示他将在本周决定是否在7月9日召开一次马里兰州议会的特殊会议讨论来自工作组的提议，除了批准的法律程序，还有一项关于博彩扩张的提议在11月份需要全体选民的批准。

　　一个独立的州工作组有望在周三批准一个计划的关键部分，这个计划是关于在洛基峡兴建赌场建设和在马里兰西部兴建高尔夫度假村的。

　　乔治王子县国家港口是在2007年由立法者认可的老虎机需求地点，但是在吸引投资者兴建一个类似的赌场方面进展缓慢，因为这个地点是国有财产，公共工程委员会需要在周三 上午批准伊维特度假村的土地租约来推动这个计划。

　　重头戏有望在下午博彩工作组召开的公开会议上上演。

　　这个由立法者和奥玛雷政府高级官员组成的工作组，在最近几天一直在忙着秘密进行计划的细节制定，据其成员的消息，在周二还有大量的数字在进行调整。

　　最大的问题是如果在乔治王子县新建一家赌场的话，如何公平的补偿现有赌场的老板们，特别是那些在安妮阿伦德尔县和巴尔的摩开设赌场的老板们。

　　工作组还很有可能建议允许经营桌面博彩项目和把老虎机的采购权由政府移交给赌场老板们，马里兰是仅有的几个由政府负责私营赌场老虎机采购或是租赁的州之一。

　　奥玛雷政府高级官员建议所有这些一揽子提议一起通过或是被否决。

　　译文：

　　It’s a high-stakes day for Maryland gambling

　　The Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved on a 3 to 0 vote the ground lease and other provisions needed to move forward with a casino at Rocky Gap.

　　The work group on expanded gambling has been meeting behind closed doors and making “painstaking progress,” according to a source in the meeting. The group is scheduled to begin a public meeting at 1 p.m.

　　Original post: Wednesday could be a pivotal day in Maryland’s gambling program.

　　A work group launched by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is scheduled to meet for the final time to determine whether it can reach consensus over a plan to expand the state’s slots program. So far, it hasn’t been easy.

　　On the table are a possible new casino, most likely at National Harbor in Prince George’s County, and Las Vegas-style table games, which would become legal at the state’s five other slots venues as well.

　　O’Malley has said he will take his cue from the work group in deciding whether to call a special session of the General Assembly the week of July 9. Besides legislative approval, an expanded gambling proposal would also require the endorsement of statewide voters in November.

　　A separate state panel is expected Wednesday to approve a key piece of a plan to allow construction of a casino at Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort in Western Maryland.

　　The state-financed lodge was identified in 2007 by lawmakers as a desired slots location but was slow to attract bidders to build an adjacent casino. Because the site sits on state property, the Board of Public Works must sign off Wednesday morning on ground lease terms for Evitts Resort to move forward with its plans.

　　The greater drama is expected to play out in the afternoon when the gambling work group assembles for a public meeting.

　　The group, which consists of legislators and O’Malley administration officials, has scrambled in recent days to craft a plan behind closed doors. On Tuesday, a lot of numbers were still in flux, according to members of the panel.

　　The largest issue is how to fairly compensate existing casino owners - especially those in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore - if a new casino is introduced in Prince George’s.

　　The panel is also likely to recommend allowing table games and shifting procurement responsibility of slot machines from the state to casino owners. Maryland is one of only a handful of states where the state is responsible for buying or leasing machines for its privately run casinos.

　　O’Malley administration officials have suggested the entire package of proposed changes will either rise or fall together