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Slot machines are of to rocky start in Maryland; it seems the state cannot even get the bidding process down.  Two bids for slot machines were rejected by the Maryland commission because they did not include the as much as $33 million in mandatory upfront license fees.

The lack of fees was noticed early on, but whether the bidders would be rejected was still up in the air.  Recently, the seven member commission in charge of licensing slot machine operations voted unanimously to reject bid of both Magna Entertainment Corp. and Empire Resorts.  Magna had plans for slot machines at a track located in Anne Arundel County and Empire would have place slot machines in Rocky Gap State Park.

The final decision by the commission came shortly after assistant attorney general Bonnie Kirkland and Maryland Lottery Agency procurement officer Robert Howell informed the panel that it appeared that the new laws restricted the commission from approving a bid without the mandatory upfront licensing fees paid in full.

“Therefore, it's our view that this was intended to be mandatory, and the commission does not have the discretion to waive it or modify that very clear mandatory provision in the statute that was passed by the legislature,” said assistant attorney general Kirkland.

Magna Entertainment Corp. operates out of Aurora Canada.  For its bid for 4,750 slot machines at the Laurel Park Horse Racing track, it should have included $28.5 million in upfront licensing fees.  Empire failed to include $4.5 million in upfront licensing fees for the 750 slot machines it planned to operate at Rocky Gap.

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