Montgomery County Leaders Speak Out Against Slot Machine Gambling

Rockville, MD – Today, Elected Officials and Local Leaders from across Montgomery County spoke out against bringing slot casinos to Maryland.  Sixteen leaders, including Montgomery County Councilmember George Leventhal, Del. (17) Jim Gilchrist, Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich, Executive Director of Community Ministry of Montgomery County Rebecca Wagner, Del. (16) Bill Bronrott, NAACP Montgomery County Branch President Henry Hailstock, Rockville City Councilmember Peter Gajewski, Montgomery County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg, Del. (20) Heather Mizeur, Del. (16) Susan Lee, Del. (14) Karen Montgomery, Takoma Park City Councilmember Josh Wright, Takoma Park City Mayor Bruce Williams, Montgomery County Councilmember Phil Andrews, State Senator Brian Frosh State and State Senator Jamie Raskin, outlined the strong case against slots and urged voters to vote no on the slots Constitutional amendment in November.

Del. Heather Mizeur said, “Maryland is the wealthiest state in the nation because we invest in our residents, but investing in slot machines will bring pawn shops and check cashing stores.”  Del. Bill Bronrott added, “The new breed of slot machines assures now, more than ever, that the house never loses.  If you want more addiction, broken families, broken lives and lost hope, vote yes for slots.”  Councilmember Marc Elrich reminded voters that “slots revenue represents not money earned, but money lost” and asked “if we need the money so badly, why are we giving so much of it away to the gambling industry?” Rebecca Wagner, Executive Director of Community Ministry of Montgomery County, pointed out that “gambling offers something for nothing and ultimately addicts us all.”

A number of additional Montgomery County leaders have previously come out against the slots Constitutional amendment, including Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez, Del. Herman Taylor, Del. Luiz Simmons, Del. Tom Hucker and former Senator Stewart Bainum.