Maryland Live! Casino Begins Turning On Slot Machines For Its Opening In June
HANOVER, Md. (WJZ)-- In a little more than a month, the state's largest slots parlor will be open for business in Anne Arundel County.
Kai Jackson gives us a special inside look inside Maryland Live! at Arundel Mills.
The expectations are high and the deadline for the opening is fast approaching.
When construction is finished, managers say Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills will be one of the largest casinos in the country.
WJZ is the first station to get video of the machines turned on, showing this stage of construction.
It opens June 6-- a day fast approaching-- and looking around, it appears there's still a lot of work to do.
"We're working around the clock. We're going to be open June 6 at 10 p.m.," Robert Norton, the general manager of Maryland Live! Casino, said.
Initially, 3,200 slot machines will fill 160,000 square feet of space, located next to Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover.
There will be six restaurants and live entertainment every night.
Opponents tried to stop the casino. They feared crime and worried the casino would prey on the poor.
In the end, those who bet on slots won.
By fall of this year, there will be 4,750 machines operating at Maryland Live! Casino costing anywhere between one penny and $100 to play.
"Anybody who's just looking for that escape. What we're building here is the Las Vegas or Atlantic City experience right here in Maryland," Norton said.
It cost an estimated $500 million to build the casino. The state expects to take in about $400 million in tax revenue annually.
An 1,500 machine casino is already open in Perryville in Cecil County and an 800 machine casino is open in Berlin in Worcester County near Ocean City.
