David Cordish

Arundel slots petition case finally gets to judge

ANNAPOLIS — After more than three days of closing arguments, the fate of a county-wide referendum on a slots casino next to the Arundel Mills mall is in a judge’s hands.

 At issue is the validity of 22,967 signatures certified by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections out of 40,408 collected during the petition drive by led by opponents of the casino, including the Maryland Jockey Club. The casino would be built and operated by Baltimore developer David Cordish.

PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC, a subsidiary of the Cordish Co., is suing the county board, challenging the process by which those signatures were verified.

In his rebuttal closing argument Thursday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, PPE attorney Anthony Herman explained why the company believes the board should have abided by the stricter county code regarding requirements for referendums and petitions.

Anne Arundel casino opponents finish case for signatures

ANNAPOLIS — Opponents of a slots casino planned near the Arundel Mills mall wrapped up their defense Wednesday in a hearing to decide whether the county elections board erred in approving their petition to put the development to a countywide vote this fall.

 In a continuation of closing arguments that began Friday afternoon, attorneys for the opponents (which include the Maryland Jockey Club) set out to rebut claims by the casino developer David Cordish that thousands of petition signatures should not have been validated by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections this spring.

PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC, a Cordish Cos. subsidiary, is suing the elections board in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, challenging the process by which the 22,967 petition signatures of the 40,408 submitted by casino opponents were verified.

Cordish lawyers assail validity of petition signatures

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business

ANNAPOLIS—A Cordish Cos. subsidiary began its exhaustive closing argument Thursday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in an effort to show that the county elections board erroneously approved a petition to put the company’s planned slots casino to a vote this fall.

At issue are the 22,967 signatures validated by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections out of 40,408 collected during the petition drive led by casino opponents, including the Maryland Jockey Club, this spring. The casino is to be located near the Arundel Mills mall and is planned by Baltimore developer David Cordish.

Cordish subsidiary PPE Casino Resorts Maryland LLC is suing the county elections board, challenging the process by which the petition signatures were verified.

Arundel casino foes say petition drive disrupted

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Opponents of Baltimore developer David Cordish’s proposed slots casino at Arundel Mills mall claim they’ve found a connection between The Cordish Cos. and the people who they say disrupted their petition signature-gathering efforts this winter.

In an affidavit filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, a private investigator said a company affiliated with Cordish Cos. hired a woman to disrupt opponents’ eventually successful petition drive to put the casino’s slots zoning up to a county-wide vote this fall.

An attorney for Cordish said his client denies the allegations.

The affidavit was filed last Friday by the Annapolis law firm Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver LLC, which represents opponents of the casino including the citizens group Stop Slots at Arundel Mills and the Maryland Jockey Club. The latter operates Laurel and Pimlico race tracks.

The Jockey Club's pricey petition

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

The Maryland Jockey Club spent nearly $660,000 in signature gathering efforts, legal fees and other services in its drive to place a referendum on the ballot this November allowing county voters to decide whether a slots casino near Arundel Mills should go forward.

While the jockey club said it’s doing what it needs to do to help Laurel Park remain a player for slots in Anne Arundel County, others question the organization’s judgment in its spending.

According to petition funding reports, nearly $400,000 of the jockey club’s money went to FieldWorks LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based firm the jockey club hired to assist in the signature-gathering process. The reports were filed with the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections and obtained by The Daily Record through the Maryland Public Information Act. The reports cover services and payments made from Jan. 31 through March 5.

Approximately $190,000 was spent on legal services provided by three firms, with all but about $23,000 going to Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan & Silver LLC, the jockey club’s Annapolis-based law firm.