Faux Slot Machines Could be Pulled

The Maryland Attorney General's office has declared that the way in which instant bingo machines (which look alot like slot machines) are being used in bars and restaurants in Southern Maryland could be illegal.

In a six-page letter to Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, assistant AG Kathryn M. Rowe opines that there are some scenarios in which the machines are legal. But the situation in St. Mary's County--where bars and restaurants are putting in as many as 60 machines and taking a big share of the profits--is not within the law, Rowe wrote in a letter dated March 10.

Miller, a Calvert Democrat who supports legalizing slot machines but opposes these slot-like machines popping up across the state, heralded the decision and said it could lead to the games being removed from bars and restaurants.

Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D-St. Mary's) called on the county Sheriff's Office to start removing those machines in violation.

"The sheriff should uphold the law," Dyson said. "He needs to go in there and do what he needs to do."

--Phil Rucker