2 casino operators eye Maryland lodge purchase
FLINTSTONE, Md.—Two casino operators have expressed interest in buying the Rocky Gap Lodge in western Maryland from the Maryland Economic Development Corp. if state voters approve slot-machine gambling this November, a MEDCO board member said Monday.
The 216-room, five-story hotel is in Rocky Gap State Park, one of five spots where slots would be installed under legislation passed by the General Assembly last fall.
The 10-year-old lakeside lodge and 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course are owned by MEDCO, a state agency that owes the project's private investors more than $28 million.
MEDCO board member Barbara G. Buehl, who is also president of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, said she has spoken with two casino companies that expressed interest in buying the hotel and merging the slots and hospitality operations.
"Food service, parking, rooms that may or may not be comped -- it's easier to have one person making those decisions than two different entities," Buehl said.
She declined to name the companies with which she has spoken. The golf course probably would not be included in such a deal, Buehl said.
Both Buehl and MEDCO Executive Director Robert C. Brennan said there have been no serious purchase offers yet. But Brennan said he expects "very strong interest" by a casino operator if the slots referendum passes.
"If and when slots occur, it will create an entirely different economic scenario in which the resource will be valued," Brennan said.
The prospect of a sale was first reported Sunday by The Washington Post.
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming Inc. signed an exclusive, 18-month option to buy 36 acres for a slots venue near the Interstate 95 toll booths in Cecil County, another prospective slots sites.
If the referendum is approved, slot machines also would be placed in Anne Arundel and Worcester counties and Baltimore city.
Rocky Gap, the most rural of the five sites, is in the Allegheny Mountains about 130 miles from both Baltimore and Washington. It would get 1,500 of the state's 15,000 slots.
Resort General Manager Tim Grambley told the Post that the most logical place for a slots casino would be on what is now a driving range next to the lodge.
Besides golf, the resort offers outdoor activities such as kayaking, canoeing, rock-climbing and fly fishing.
The resort operated in the red for years and cannot make its $2.2 million in annual interest payments to bondholders, although they and state officials are working toward a financial restructuring, the Post reported.
Brennan told the newspaper the lodge is on track to take in $12.5 million this year, which would cover operating expenses. He said business is off by 15 percent this summer.
