Pro-Slots TV Ads Begin in Washington Area

The first pro-slots television ad to hit the Washington-area market began airing today, playing up the pitch that slots will help Maryland recapture hundreds of millions of dollarsh spent by gamblers out of state.

The narrator begins with a claim that $400 million a year are lost to Maryland by residents who play slots in neighboring Delaware, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The lost money is said to be improving education in West Virginia and lowering taxes in Pennsylvania. But it will be invested at home, in Maryland schools, if voters authorize up to 15,000 machines at five locations on Nov. 4, the narrator continues.

The ad, sponsored by For Maryland For Our Future, is running in the Washington suburbs and Baltimore.

The group also announced an endorsement yesterday from the Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police. In a statement, President Rodney Bartlett cited the state's shaky finances as a leading factor and disputed claims that slot machines will lead to more crime.

By Lisa Rein |  October 21, 2008; 4:42 PM ET  | Category:  Lisa Rein , Slots
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