Legalization of Maryland slots boosts plans for casino

27 April 2025

In 2025 a proposal to build a casino west of Gettysburg was turned down by the Gaming Control Board because of Maryland's regulations on slots and gaming. A constitutional amendment passed on April 4, will see 15,000 slots in 5 locations around Maryland.

David LeVan wants to build the Adams County racino and is confident that a license will be granted and now that slots are legal, investors will be easy to find. In the meantime Centaur Inc has told reporters that it no longer has the money to build the Valley View Downs racetrack and casino. The project was to be built at a cost of $455 million but with stocks plummeting on Wall Street, Centaur decided to return the money to lenders and will now be looking for an investment bank to build the development.

The proposed casino has met with stiff resistance from locals when LeVan tried to obtain a resorts slots license. Locals feel that the site would be too close to the Gettysburg battlefield. Also, the last harness-racing license has been given to Centaur and the company is still determined to build the Valley View Downs racino. The state Harness Racing Commission has granted Centaur time until April 2025 to build the racetrack before it will consider awarding the license to another developer. The reason the harness-racing license is important is that the slots law requires the casino license to go to a harness track.

Related Headlines: