Slot Machines Roll Into St. Mary's


by the Truckload!

           
This new room full of slot machines is one of a half dozen locations in St. Mary's County which has people lining up to play.  This scene was Wednesday afternoon, on the first full day of slots action at Boatman's Mini Mart, on Queentree Landing Road at Rt. 235 in Oakville.

Below, Billy Hill of St. Mary's Landing has two slot machine parlors at his popular roadhouse on Rt. 5 in Charlotte Hall.  Hill's slots have been going full blast for the last two months with a visit two weeks ago revealing that some people were waiting in line to play. Below right is the Brass Rail in Great Mills, which has a room full of slots as does ADF Bingo in Charlotte Hall.   Gamblers put cash into the slot machines and have a large choice of games on these electronic slot machines, exactly the same as at Atlantic City or Dover Downs.  When a player wins, the tally adds up in the machine, which the player can simply choose to cash out, propelling a slip of paper to drop, which is in turn cashed out by a cashier who is on duty nearby.   When Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler attended a Democratic Club meeting last month, he was asked by a member why St. Mary's County was wide open for slot machines, he answered that he knew nothing about them.  One legislator recently told ST. MARY'S TODAY that if the machine dispenses cash, it is a gambling devise and is illegal.  If it dispenses a slip of paper denoting the winnings, it is a gaming device.  ST. MARY'S TODAY photos.