Not unsurprisingly, MGM Resorts International, Penn National Gaming and Greenwood Racing (owner of Philadelphia‘s Parx Casino) received the unanimous benediction of the Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Commission this week. Since Penn already operates in the Free State, its approval could, of course, be taken for 
granted. MGM was pretty thoroughly vetted and its approval was conditional on the company having no further contact with ex-board member and electronic snoop Terry Christensen. That should be easy to do. Since Maryland has reviewed MGM’s dealings with Pansy Ho (left) and deemed them moot, this — along with the Christensen stipulation — should remove any unease about MGM getting licensed in Massachusetts and forgiven in New Jersey. CEO Jim Murren had to be pretty happy about that: Think of all that Borgata revenue, piling up in trust, tantalizingly out of reach.
Greenwood’s approval was also probationary. Chairman Robert Green has to sever ties with convicted felon and former Parx owner Robert Brennan, with whom Green has injudiciously continued to keep company. You’d think somebody as successful in the casino industry as Green would have the smarts not hang out with a penny-stock swindler, especially one fresh out of the federal pen. Green had already received a fairly thorough grilling from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Considering a finding of “a serious lack of judgment on his [Green’s] part,” that may weigh heavily against Raynham Park‘s slot-parlor bid in the end.
Proving that there’s nothing quite like a meaningless publicity stunt, the Institute for American Values is holding a ceremonial slot-machine smashing on the steps of New York’s state capitol. Lobbyist David Blankenhorn will deal out some of the damage, as will author Barbara Whitehead and Dr. Stephen Shafer, a man evidently willing to trade in his medical credibility for a photo op. The fun starts in Albany next Tuesday morning. In the meantime, Blankenhorn and Whitehead have been carpet-bombing the media with anti-casino arguments. They’re tireless, I’ll give them that.
