Several years after a Slot Barn opens, Gambling Addiction has absorbed most of the available discretionary income and crime begins to increase to feed that Addiction according to statistics.
In some cases, such as Genting's Aqueduct in New York, the local police department adopted a 'Wait and See' approach that bit them. They were woefully unprepared, failed to increase personnel and patrols and local residents suffered, as well as Slot Barn patrons.
To postulate about CRIME after Maryland Live! has been open for 3 months is absurd.
Were CRIME not an issue, why such a heavy police presence ???
Increased CRIME is an issue surrounding Slot Barns. What has it COST local taxpayers?
Casino crime minimal in first 3 months
Posted: Saturday, September 22, 2012
Since June 6, there have been just 17 incidents of criminal activity reported by police. Most have been crimes of opportunity, McAndrew said, such as purses stolen from unlocked cars or unattended cellphones snatched from slot machines.
Security experts said these crimes are to be expected considering the thousands of people that gamble each day at Maryland Live!
“It does not concern me at all that they have those number of cases,” said Ken Braunstein, who owns a casino-security company in Reno, Nev. “Crimes occur where people congregate. There’s a lot of drinking that goes on at a casino, and people are careless and money is the commodity. You’re always going to have those crimes.”
Braunstein said neighbors should be pleased there is no indication of an increase in violent crimes, such as robberies and assaults. In fact, the only assault reported during the casino’s first quarter occurred when a drunken gambler threw a drink on a security guard, according to police reports.
“We really haven’t detected any uptick in crime,” said Lt. Robert Smolek, commander of the state police barracks in Glen Burnie.
The number of drunken driving arrests on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, a main artery carrying gamblers to the casino, has increased 8 percent since the casino opened. There were 94 of such arrests during the first quarter of casino operations. Those same months last year, before the casino opened, produced 87 arrests, according to reports from the U.S. Park Police, which patrols the highway along with state police.
“Frankly, I expected our crashes to increase just because of the volume of cars — but it really hasn’t,” Smolek added.
There were 15 reported thefts in the first quarter and the most money was stolen in July, when a slots voucher worth $1,022.31 was taken from a gambler, according to police. That voucher was confiscated when the alleged thief tried to cash out.
There were seven thefts reported inside the casino itself. Most of these involved purses, cellphones and wallets left unattended. One man, in fact, hit a jackpot and had his cellphone and computer swiped amid the ensuing confusion, according to the police report.
One theft reported in July involved a casino employee who was discovered concealing money within her shirt, according to police. The Baltimore County woman was counting money in the casino cage when surveillance cameras filmed her hiding cash, according to a police report. When questioned, some of the bills were poking out from between her shirt buttons.
Eight thefts occurred in the casino parking garage. Purses, wallets and laptops were stolen. In some cases, the items were left in plain sight, car windows were left down and doors left unlocked.
“If this is all you’re seeing, I think the casino is doing a pretty good job,” Braunstein said. “I think it’s pretty common for the public to expect crime to be worse than it ends up being.”
Police credit the success to a security team of more than 100 officers employed by the casino. Some of the security personnel are off-duty police officers. Others have a background in public safety, including former firefighters and members of the armed forces. They patrol the casino grounds and parking garage at all hours.
“I believe the security measures we have implemented go above and beyond what would be expected to ensure that our guests feel safe,” said Robert Norton, casino president. “Safety and security are of the utmost importance to Maryland Live!”
Similarly, McAndrew oversees a police unit that patrols the casino grounds, parking lots and surrounding communities. Overtime officers are hired to work three posts, while a unit of about 12 officers is now being trained to work the posts permanently.
Still, not everyone is convinced that concerns of violent casino crime have proven unfounded.
“I think three months is way too early to start talking about trends,” said David Jones, a leader in the failed effort to block the casino. “Everybody’s optimistic now. But the real test for me will be when you start getting into three years from now. I’m withholding judgment until then.”
http://www.capitalgazette.com/maryland_gazette/hot/casino-crime-minimal-in-first-months/article_780daf67-0c93-57dc-b082-3b949c2ed35f.html
The Interview: Robert J. Norton
Norton is general manager of Maryland Live! casino
Amid legal wrangling and a ballot fight, it seemed as though the casino proposed for Arundel Mills would never become a reality.
Nearly two years ago, the state's slots commission awarded Anne Arundel County's sole slots license to Baltimore developer Cordish Cos. But construction began only this past January.
That's because Cordish battled numerous opponents, including the Maryland Jockey Club, which had sought to steer the license to Laurel Park race course in an attempt to boost the track's ailing business. A legal fight moved to a countywide ballot referendum, in which voters affirmed last fall Cordish's right to build the casino at the mall.
With the tumult behind it, Cordish Cos. is moving on. The first phase of Maryland Live! Casino, with 3,000 slot machines and electronic table-game terminals, is on track to open in June. And the entire $500 million casino is expected to open by the end of 2012.
Maryland Live! is expected to be the largest and most lucrative of the state's five planned casinos. One in Perryville and another in the Eastern Shore are now open, while state officials are considering bids for one slots parlor each in Baltimore City and in Western Maryland.
"We're excited to get this place opened," said Maryland Live! casino general manager Robert J. Norton, a gambling industry veteran who was hired in March to oversee all aspects of the facility's operations.
"I think people will be pleased on many levels with the facility and the entertainment and the experience that Maryland Live! will provide."
Norton recently spoke with The Baltimore Sun about the casino construction's progress, jobs and what gamblers can expect.
What will make Maryland Live! different from other casinos in the area, including those that have already opened in Maryland?
The first thing … is the scope of the project. We'll have 4,750 slot machines with over 300,000 square feet of space. We'll have world-class restaurants and national-brand restaurants.
And you tie that all together with arguably one of the best locations in the country, between Baltimore and Washington, at Arundel Mills where you have the convenience of all the amenities right next to us. …
It'll be competitive in [Las] Vegas or Atlantic City, we believe.
Where would the casino draw customers from?
The lion's share of consumers will come from within a two-hour driving range.
We realize that there are natural synergies that exist with the local hotels and other business along the Arundel Mills area and the proximity to BWI [airport] to have a prominent presence in the tourism market.
As such, we're working with convention and visitors groups and other organizations like that to make sure we address the tourism market appropriately. …
We are very interested in working with local business owners as it relates to some of our ongoing operational and marketing strategies. We've approached many of the stores in the mall, and we're trying to enhance and build that relationship with Arundel Mills. It's not going to be limited to just the mall. We would like to engage that whole neighborhood.
Give us an update on where things stand with the casino's construction and other plans.
Everything on the construction side is on schedule. Things are moving nicely out there. It's coming along great.
Hiring has commenced. We posted an ad in the paper [recently] and we had hundreds of responses already. And our website for recruiting online … is scheduled to kick off in the next two months. Our preview center is about to open at the mall where people could get a taste of what the facility will be like.
Speaking of hiring, how many total jobs will you have?
When you add the restaurant functions, 1,500 total jobs.
1,500 low wage jobs [after the restaurant(s) open]
4,750 SLOT MACHINES
1,500 Low Wage Jobs
= 3.1 SLOT MACHINES for EACH JOB [not accounting for shifts, weekends, restaurant staffing]
Each Slot Machine permanently removes + 1 JOB from the local economy.
The lion's share will be hired by June, and a small percentage will come on after June. …
Right now, most of the executive positions are going through postings and recruitment efforts. But as we get closer to mass hiring, we will be engaging job fairs and other tactics like that. We are working closely with the community college and workforce development agency. …
What's great about the casino when it comes to finding a career is that we're a microcosm of the rest of the world, where you could find almost anything. … We could find careers for a wide variety of personalities and interests.
What kind of outreach does the casino have planned for surrounding neighborhoods and residents, some of whom had opposed a casino at the mall?
We will have a community advisory group as part of our plans … to ensure that we have a positive impact in the community.
We take our involvement with the community seriously, and this advisory group is to make sure that they have a voice [at] the table. We intend to be a good corporate neighbor.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-11-12/business/bs-bz-interview-robert-norton-20111112_1_cordish-cos-arundel-mills-casino-general-manager
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