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Certainly, there is a lot of talk about changing gaming in Maryland.  Maryland law currently has five designated slot machine gambling location, only two of which have officially be constructed.  There are legislators that have already begun discussing additional slot machine locations around the state.  A lot of that talk is probably due to the fact that of the original 15,000 slot machines legalized in 2008, there are still a couple of thousand slot machines that have not been assigned to any of the five casino.  Bidders requested a low number of slot machines typically during the application process, but that was due to the recession that had just hit the country at the time.  There are also legislators that are considering expanding gambling in Maryland by legalizing table games.  Regardless any of these moves will be no less than a year off as they require amendments to the Maryland constitution.  These will not be quick changes.

That has to be the reason the Penn National Gaming has taken such an interest in Maryland since 2008.  Remember that Penn National Gaming has not owned a stake in Laurel Park for that long.  The decided to get involved in the racetrack in order to make it a more viable bid for the Anne Arundel County slots venue bid.  That bid ended up going to Cordish Cos.  Penn National Gaming has sort of started using horse racing venues as a means to spread their influence over the Maryland gambling scene.  The latest move was the $10 million dollar purchase of Rosecraft Raceway.  If Maryland decides to change their gambling laws, there is a good chance that slot machines will go to racetracks.  Penn National Gaming is just trying to position themselves in as beneficial a stance as possible.

Although the horse industry is suffering because of its lack of relevance in the modern age, states are still trying to salvage it, especially during this current recession, because its collapse will lead to the more unemployment and will really hit the rural areas of the country really hard.  As expensive as live can be in the nation’s cities, rural economies are typically the least capable of dealing with economic upheaval.  There is a chance that Maryland is considering utilizing their last few remaining slot machines and placing them in horse racing venues around the state.  That would make sense as to why Penn National Gaming was so eager to acquire ownership of Rosecraft.  That way the state would be forced to issue them another license. Not a bad plan.

It is my guess that as a partial owner of the Maryland Jockey Club, the company decided to reach out to another racetrack that is not in a county where slot machines are already spoken for.  It is may guess that the company will build a partnership between the two racing venues so that they can both benefit from slot machine revenues.  I imagine the only reason that the company even chose to get involved with such a dodgy investment is to secure the investment they already have with Laurel Park.  Of course there is more to having slot machines at Rosecraft Raceway than just helping out Laurel Park.  Now the company will be making profit off of more than just the 1,500 slot machines they currently have operating at the Hollywood Casino at Perryville in Cecil County, Maryland.

Now we find the Penn National Gaming has been breaking their necks to find a way of getting slot machines at either Laurel Park racetrack or their recently purchased Rosecraft Raceway.  It seems evident to me that the state is considering locations to install the remainder of the slot machines that have yet to be spoken for.  There is also a good chance that the state is looking very hard and allowing the slot machines to operate at the states racetracks.  That would be the quick and dirty way of getting those slot machines in play.  There will be a lot less hassle with zoning issues with the slot machine operating at venues where gambling is already permitted.   There also, typically, will be a lot less construction required.

The company was apparently up against the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Peter G. Angelos, and one other unidentified bidder.  At the end of the day the company ended up paying $10.25 million in cash for the venue.  Once again my suspicions are raised as to why a prominent local business man and one of the country’s leading casino operators would fight over a racetrack venue when they both know that racing alone is not likely to keep the venue open.  I must also recognize that not all of the 15,000 slot machines approved by the state have been utilized by the five designated casino venues.  It is likely that the state is preparing to create more operator licenses.  It would make absolute and total sense for the state to do this, but that does not necessarily mean companies like Penn National will be given another chance to hold a second license.

However, out of respect for the company, I hope they do have some sort of insider information they are acting on because purchasing a racetrack seems like the least wise business move that any person or company could make.  Rosecraft especially is not one of those anomaly venues that happen to be doing well despite the country’s growing disinterest in horse racing.  The venue was already bankrupt when Penn National Gaming bought it.  Penn National Gaming has no intention of bulldozing the venue and turning it into a parking lot.  They plan to restore racing to the venue and some how miraculously introduce slot machines.  Good luck, without slot machines the company is destined to have a pretty bum investment on their hands.

The newest of their  bold acts is buying Rosecraft Raceways.  The company can buy as many crumbling and bankrupt racetracks as they want, but I find it disturbing that they would make such a huge investment on what should be a slim chance situation.  The company has made no secrets about their intentions with Rosecraft.  They fully intend to rebuilding the venue and add slot machines to its offerings.  Since Maryland has a law about any single operator having more than one license, I find it disturbing that Penn National Gaming would invest in what is sure to be a fail venture.  It makes me think that they have some assurance that this venture will indeed work out in the end.  Perhaps the ear of some legislator.

However, Penn National Gaming is determined to be the license holder of at least one more venue in the state.  Their first attempt was to secure a license for Laurel Park, but that would have required the failure of Cordish Cos to secure the favor of Anne Arundel County voters.  It is not likely that the state would allow slot machines at two locations in the same county.  Now they have purchased Rosecraft Raceway and they have made it public knowledge that they plan on turning the venue into a racino.  I am not sure what insider info the group must have that they seem to be taking no notice of the law that restricts companies to one license a piece, but they seem not to be paying it any mind.

Cordish Cos eventually won when voters in Anne Arundel County agreed that they wanted slot machines at the mall.  So it looks like Penn National Gaming is on to plan be.  They have purchased the bankrupt Rosecraft Raceway.  Racetracks are not a new commodity to Penn National Gaming in Maryland.  The group owns a pretty significant chunk of Laurel Park.  They initially hoped to win a bid to have the slot machines located at the racetrack, but that is not likely to happen.  I am not sure exactly how they plan to get slot machines at Rosecraft Raceways since they already have an operators license in Maryland, but the group has made it clear that, that is their goal.