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Bit by bit Maryland is assembling the committee that will make all the tough decisions about the new slot machines coming to the state.  Recently named by House Speaker Michael E. Busch to the committee is Democrat D. Bruce Poole, an attorney from Hagerstown, Maryland.  Poole was once a Washington County state delegate. 

The people in charge of selecting the members of the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission are Busch, Governor Martin O’Malley, and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.  Each selected new members this past Monday.  Donald C. Fry was appointed by Governor O’Malley just last week to be the chairman.

Deciding where exactly the slot machines will be located in Maryland will be one of the responsibilities of the commission.  Last month’s referendum legalized as many as 15,000 slot machines to operate in the state of Maryland.

Rocky Gap State Park in Allegany County is the only location so far that will definitely have slot machines operating on its premises.  Although the operators have yet to be chose it is also known that slot machines will be operating in Anne Arundel county, Worcester county, and the city of Baltimore.

The other responsibilities of the Maryland’s Video Lottery Facility Location Commission will be to award licenses through competitive bidding from a pool of potential operators.

Poole openly opposed the presence of slot machines in the state, making him a great balance for the committee.  According Poole, at this point, his objective is to “just get the best deal I can for the taxpayers.”

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