Support for Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker’s $1 billion casino proposal is growing in Upper Marlboro, where the County Council is fractured over legislation to expand gambling.
Six council members, led by Councilman Mel Franklin, D-Upper Marlboro, sent letters to lawmakers Tuesday in support of the Senate bill now trying to make its way through the House of Delegates.
The council as a whole sent a letter in March opposing the bill, which would authorize a sixth Maryland casino in the county and allow table games at all casinos, shortly before it passed the Senate. But council members Obie Patterson, Ingrid Turner, Will Campos, Karen Toles, Derrick Leon Davis and Franklin have now split from their colleagues.
Their support hinges on the hope of job creation expected at a Las Vegas-style casino along the Potomac River at National Harbor, as well as several measures that increase revenues to the county, including an adjustment to the way the state calculates net taxable income — the modification is expected to generate more than $13 million annually for Prince George’s.
The legislation still faces steep opposition from Council Chairwoman Andrea Harrison, D-Bladensburg, and the chairwoman of the Prince George’s County House delegation, Del. Melony Griffith, as well as other lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee, which must pass the bill.
