Philadelphia and South Jersey are no strangers to casinos. We have Atlantic City, next to Las Vegas the biggest aggregation of gaming halls in the nation. Cross the Delaware, and we have a choice of one casino down I-95 and two up I-95 from Center City, and one on the western suburban fringe in Valley Forge. Drive a little farther, and you’re bound to be in the vicinity of yet another.
Last May in this section, William Ordine wrote about Maryland Live!, a year-old casino complex with more than 4,300 slots and electronic table games, 122 live table games, and 52 poker tables.
I wanted to visit, and finally did on Oct. 19, when I was in College Park. I’m not a big gambler, but I love shopping and, even better, discounts – both of which I found at Maryland Live!.
Instead of a casino’s being dropped into the middle of a city or a historic site, or a former racetrack’s being converted, Maryland Live! was developed at Arundel Mills mall, the state’s largest shopping complex, with outlets and retail, dining and entertainment. Ten miles south of Baltimore and 20 miles north of Washington, it brings in nearly $1 million a day in taxes for the state.
I wish I had thought of this.
That Saturday evening, my mister and I headed over. I hadn’t realized how big the Arundel Mills Commercial District is. After we left Route 295, we started seeing new housing complexes and stores. And hotels. And more stores. And restaurants. And stores.
We followed signs to Maryland Live!, which turned out to be near the Burlington Coat Factory; we parked at the huge store (I needed to get pantyhose for the next day). I passed the home decor section, resisting the temptation of the Christmas decorations. I wasn’t at Arundel Mills mall to shop.
I was there to gamble.
We followed the crowd from the mall to Maryland Live!. The neon signage and the smokers outside blocking the "No Smoking" signs signaled that this was the place.
We walked through the obligatory security, and onto the gaming floor. Lights blinked. Bells rang. Machines went ding! – a sea of slot machines, with table games at the center and to the side. All cash denominations were accepted except the $1 bill. I got a $10 bill from my sweetie, sat down, and put it into a nickel machine. I quickly lost $2.40 and walked away. I found another nickel machine and won a bit, lost a bit, and ended up leaving with about $6.85.
We walked around. It was very clean, I noticed. The casino has a gift shop, a bar, and restaurants ringing it. I didn’t see any stereotypical gaming-hall types, lightly dressed and heavily made-up women or men in dark shirts and light ties. The bells and whistles pumped the adrenalin, but the feeling wasn’t Atlantic City or Vegas. I didn’t hear a band playing Sinatra. (The Rams Head on Stage theater that night featured singer-songwriter Martin Sexton and Brothers McCann.)
Mostly, the people looked like they were out for a day at the mall. It wasn’t exactly what I had expected.
Then I saw them. The progressives: dollars, 50 cents, quarters – pennies!
I sat down at a tall, shiny penny progressive at the end of the aisle, and felt right at home. I put in my coupon for $6.85 and bet 30 lines at a time. I lost, lost, won 200, lost, lost, lost. So it went – until I hit the bonus. I got free spins and ended the round at $8.45. OK, I thought. That’s more like it. I spun and lost a few more times.
Then, when I was down to about $7, the machine took over. It asked me to spin the reels. I did, and the machine went wild. When all was said and done, I had $19.35! I thanked my machine, and cashed out.
I converted my coupon to money, and repaid the $10 loan. I was quite pleased, and knew I would return.
We returned to our car through the mall. Ms. Big Spender that I was, I bought myself an ice cream cone and a coffee for the mister. As we walked, I made mental notes on plenty of stores that I’ll stop into on my next drive to Maryland to visit my machine.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/living/tra … 71hhyYx.99
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