O'Malley's flawed budget defense

Revisiting O'Malley's shock that Anne Arundel does not have an operating casino may lead a person to believe the Governor is completely out of touch with Maryland. Martin O'Malley does spend a lot of time courting out of State Corporations as well as prepping for a possible Federal position in the next election cycle.
What I believe the Governor is attempting is some drama queen diversions. The Governor pulled the same antics with Constellation Energy.
Governor O'Malley is saying part of his budget is over because he thought the Anne Arundel casino was going to be open soon. According to O'Malley's spokesperson "They held a groundbreaking, and because of that, the state made certain we planned" on the money going towards the budget. Notice the "we" and the "state" never does O'Malley say "I" . It just isn't his fault.
As one political correspondent remarked "You would have to live in a cave or the rugged Afghan mountains of Tora Bora not to know." the casino construction schedule was stalled due to petty lawsuits. The correspondent also questions why the Governor does not call out the developers on the revenue from Baltimore or Ocean Downs casinos.
What did the Governor plan to use the expected money on? Admirable categories, Education, local county, and the racing industry.
O'Malley comes out of his cave and realizes the revenue is not yet there, where does he cut? Education and to make that worse, runs emergency legislation so the racing budget is diverted to the straight to the track owners and not to the racing industry.

Governor O'Malley a Penn Gaming Patsy?

The recipients of some emergency corporate welfare spent millions on a referendum to stop a casino in Anne Arundel and protect their Charlestown casino.
A reverse procedure is happening in the South as described in the following analyst transcript excerpt from Penn Gaming. If Governor O'Malley would just substitute the word "Texas" with "Maryland" , the Governor may understand the kind of patsy he has been played.


"Steven Wieczynski - Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc.
So going back to Texas, a follow-up there. I guess, it's pretty interesting that you guys said that polling is pretty favorable, but your competitors who are building assets in Louisiana say it's still negative. So I guess, the question is, if this does go to a referendum at some point, now what -- how do you guys feel about the potential of the passage, especially going into a year whether it's '11 or '13 where it's going to be a non-presidential year?
Peter Carlino
Well, first kind of a fun one. I got to stick my nose on that one. You would expect nothing less from what you described as our competitors in Louisiana. The pollings are pretty clear and Eric will speak to that, that the voters in Texas would strongly support this. The trick of course is get the legislature to step up and give them that opportunity. Eric, why don't you take a whack at that please?


Eric Schippers
Yes, I was going to say when you look at our polling, which we've done a extensive amount of polling, the strongest question that moves the needle is, "How do you feel about the neighboring states continuing to benefit from the revenues of Texas gamers as opposed to saving the money here for the benefit of our state?" And so, we have pointed out to every legislature we can in Texas that Dan Lees [ph] $400 million project was approved right on the border and they're continuing to sort of thumb their nose at you in Texas thinking that you can't pass this. And frankly, that has gotten a lot of attention from legislators who otherwise may not be looking at this as a potential piece of an overall budget solution. There is a lot of pride in Texas as you may be aware. So we're hopeful that as they look at and understand the benefit other states are receiving from Texas dollars flooding across the border, they'll kind of get the joke as we say and pass this thing. Once we get to the balance, there is an overwhelming amount of people, and both Republican, Democrat, tea party, cuts across all different political stripes who want: A, the chance to vote on this; and B are okay with slots at the racetracks, because it's not an expansion of the current footprint of gaming in Texas. And we think that's an important part of the solution this time around as opposed to more expansive efforts that others are espousing."

From the same transcript, the makeup of the West Virginia Charlestown Casino customer is described:
" I think there's roughly 33% of our customers are from Maryland, "

Martin O'Malley's history revision

In response to the news the Arundel Mills casino will not be finished this year, Governor Martin O'Malley rebuked the developer by saying they 'broke their commitment". Is this code for the developer will now get a subsidy? Probably not. I think that only works for O'Malley's largest contributor, Penn Gaming, aka Maryland Jockey Club.
The Governor is mad because he  irresponsibly planned on the revenue from the Maryland Live Casino for his derailed State budget.
The Casino  construction has been delayed for almost two years because in part Governor O'Malley's refusal to support the legitimate license holder and instead backed Penn Gaming's initiative to defy the State Constitution and illegally award a second license without due process for the Laurel Park Racetrack.
Instead O'Malley was rebuked when the Anne Arundel citizens soundly voted to back due process and the State Constitution.
Governor O'Malley's rebukes should be directed towards all of his former staff members that have gone off to lobby for these special interests as well as holding himself accountable.
For a refresher of the history:
Maryland Jockey Club submitted an RFP for a casino without paying the necessary license fees (28 million dollars)
License awarded to the developer that submitted the RFP and license fees (Maryland Live)
MJC files suit to block awarding license (wants a rebid)
Anne Arundel County Council approves zoning (10 months of delays sponsored by MJC)
MJC sponsors a referendum petition drive (1 million dollars) to overturn zoning (6 month delay)
MJC bankrolls campaign for derailing approved zoning (8 million dollars)
Zoning referendum soundly approved by AA voters.
MJC sponsors suit against permits (3 month delay)
MJC/Penn Gaming pleads poverty- Governor O'Malley approves emergency legislation to give approximately 4 million a year as corporate welfare.
Maryland Live has a groundbreaking that Governor O'Malley does not attend.
O'Malley acts surprised that the Maryland Casino is not open (4 months after groundbreaking).
Who really should be rebuked for breaking commitments?