Some Jefferson leaders fret over idea of Md. slots

Associated Press

CHARLES TOWN November 06, 2008 11:46 am

— They won’t be jingling until at least 2011, but slot machines in Maryland already have some Jefferson County leaders worried.
The county gets $2.7 million a year — nearly a quarter of its budget — from revenues at the Charles Town Races and Slots.
Commissioner Jim Surkamp says the county may need to slow down capital improvement projects.
Delegate-elect and track employee Tiffany Lawrence says there likely will be an impact because so many Charles Town gamblers are from out of state.
But she says the county needs to rely on more than one industry.
Maryland voters legalized slot machines with a constitutional amendment Tuesday.
It allows casinos in Baltimore; in Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester counties; and at Rocky Gap State Park in western Maryland.