Baltimore is moving forward with plans to bring slot machines to the city. Officials have agreed to spend $4.1 million to buy land for a proposed slots casino. That lot is located near M&T Bank Stadium in the Carroll Camden area of Baltimore. The lot is currently used for parking during Ravens football games.
Tara Diel lives in nearby Federal Hill with her husband and 2 year old son Benjamin. She's concerned about the increased crime slots could bring and problems with parking, it could force her family to move out. Diel says, "With the stadium events that come in, we have had issues with parking. We just don't go anywhere and I'm guessing the slots will be open all day and everyday so I'm hoping they'll at least be strict about the parking regulations."
One of the major reasons this area was chosen is because it's easily accessible to the major interstates. But just blocks away are neighborhoods and people living here are very concerned. Historic Sharp Leadenhall is a community plagued by crime and poverty. Martha Roach has lived here for 2 and half decades. She says slots will prey on the poor and many of her neighbors just can't afford to gamble away what little they have.
At Christ Lutheran Church, Pastor John Sabatelli is worried about the elderly in his congregation. He says, "It's bad enough that on occasion they go to Dover or Charlestown and lose. Now all they have to do is go a few blocks." The proposed site is a short walk from downtown, a quick stop off the highways, and right down the street from the Greyhound bus terminal. February is the deadline for gambling companies to bid on a license.
