Update, 10 p.m.: A report filed by the pro-Cordish group, Jobs and Revenue for Anne Arundel County, shows $2.6 million in contributions. Of that, $600,000 is from the business entity set up by Cordish to run the casino. Another $2 million is from the Arundel Mills Limited Partnership, which lists its address as the mall. Original post: The operators of
Laurel Park racetrack have spent more than $3 million thus far in an attempt to derail a planned slots casino at Arundel Mills mall, according to a report made public Friday. No Slots At The Mall, a group seeking to repeal a local zoning measure needed to built the casino, reported receiving nearly $3.3 million from The Maryland Jockey Club, which operates Laurel. Much of the money has been spent on TV ads that seek to persuade Anne Arundel County voters to reject the zoning measure Nov. 2. The 4,750-machine casino would be Maryland's largest. If the zoning measure is rejected, the owners of Laurel hope to emerge as an alternative slots site. A 2008 ballot measure approved by Maryland voters allows one slots site in Anne Arundel County located within two miles of Route 295. A state commission has awarded a license to Cordish Cos., the Baltimore-based developer of the casino at the mall, contingent on zoning. A pro-casino group funded by Cordish also filed a report Friday with the State Board of Elections. It was not immediately available.
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