In Maine, opponents to a casino in Oxford County ended their call for a recount on a vote that authorized the casino during the mid-term elections. The vote was close, but Maine residents approved the casino and Monday marked the end of the opposition, who admitted defeat.
The Cordish Company had been working on a plan to build a temporary casino at the Arundel Mills Mall in recent months, and the Slots Location Commission approved the plan on Monday. Now, the company will begin working on the temporary structure and the parking garage for the facility.
When the Anne Arundel County casino is complete it will be the largest casino in Maryland. Earlier this year the first casino in the state opened, and similar to Pennsylvania, once the state started to allow casino gambling, they moved quickly to ensure that the millions of dollars in tax revenue could be had as soon as possible.
Maine is even a bigger newcomer to the gaming industry than Maryland. Maine voters authorized the table games and slot casino in Oxford County, leaving the state to try and quickly play catch up with other states in the Northeast. While they are lagging behind, Maine is not the only state that did not have casino gambling. Massachusetts lawmakers are still trying to figure out a way to legalize casino resorts.
New York is the most well known state in the Northeast when it comes to entertainment and celebrity, and that may give the state an advantage as they expand their gambling industry. After ten years, the Aqueduct casino plan finally has an operator, and other casino projects are in the works in New York. New Jersey has the oldest casinos on the East Coast, and their lawmakers are now working on a plan to legalize sports betting and Internet gambling.