Four Decades Not Long Enough

It has been forty years since slot machines were legal in the state of Maryland, and many would like to see it stay that way. They were originally introduced in the state in 1937 as a means to help those that needed more at the end of the Great Depression. They were supposed to be gone by April 30, 1939, but by 1943 Anne Arundel County had legalized the slot machines again, and by the late 1940’s three other counties had them. By 1949, southern Maryland was the only place outside of Nevada in the continental US that offered slot machines.

But then in the 1960’s, the state tried to make the slot machines illegal, and Governor Tawes had them phased out by 1968 in all but fraternal organizations, until 1984 when they were made illegal there as well. But then they were legalized again two years later for certain charities to operate, and in certain counties on the Eastern Shore.

However, one county was left out of the legalization process, and has been again now that they are legal in the rest of the state. Worcester County maintains that if everyone else can have slot machines, then they should be able to as well. They say that there is no reason why they should continue to be illegal in their state when they haven’t given just cause for them to be.

There are many residents that say that they want to see them legalized in their county, but there is also a large number of residents that like the fact that they still can’t get them. They say that forty years isn’t nearly long enough for them to be illegal, and that people don’t remember what it was like when they were. They argue that if the rest of the state wants them that is fine, but they don’t want them in their backyard. They maintain that if residents of Worcester County want to see slot machines then they should go to a county that offers them.

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