County Vote Paves Way For More Uses On Casino Property

County Vote Paves Way For More Uses On  Casino Property
File Photo

BERLIN – County officials approved the creation of an overlay zone to allow Ocean Downs Casino to expand despite objections from Ocean City’s mayor and representatives of the local hospitality industry.

The Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday voted 5-2, with Commissioners Jim Bunting and Joe Mitrecic opposed, to approve a casino entertainment district for the A-2 zone. The change is meant to allow for an expansion of entertainment uses on the Ocean Downs Casino property.

“I can’t vote for this and I think down the road we’re going to be very sorry we did it,” Mitrecic said.

The concept of a casino overlay zone was introduced this summer. Connections of the casino said it would allow for an expansion of uses on the site to drive more people to the casino. Attorney Joe Moore, representing the casino, said that while a rezoning to commercial would allow dozens more uses on the site, the overlay zone allowed just 12. He added that any additions would be subject to a two-phase approval process.

“I think it’s important for us all to realize today is only a text change,” said attorney Joe Moore, representing the casino. “It does not grant one of those approvals.”

Moore said casino representatives had met with Ocean City hoteliers and were committed to adjusting the proposed bill so that any potential hotel would be limited to 150 rooms.

“We do not want to get in anybody’s way,” Moore said. “We don’t want to compete with Ocean City. We don’t want to compete with anybody. We want to get folks to come to the casino so that we can increase our income. That translates directly to the increase in the taxes that we pay that go directly to Worcester County, Ocean Pines, Berlin and Ocean City. That’s all we want to do. We don’t want to take business from anybody.”

When asked why a hotel was even being discussed when it wasn’t currently permitted, Moore said it was something the casino wanted to pursue in the future.

“If the law changes in the state we would like to consider having a hotel there,” he said.

Bobbi Sample, general manager of the casino, pointed out that the grants the local jurisdictions received from the casino revenues had helped repair roads, build a police station in Berlin and pay debt service on Worcester Technical High School. She added the casino provided hundreds of year-round jobs.

Sample stressed anything that would be built at the casino if the overlay zone was approved would still require county oversight.

“This does not give us carte blanche to start building tomorrow,” she said.

As far as traffic on Route 589, Sample said the casino would have a traffic study done for the entirety of Route 589.

“It is in the casino’s best interest there not be traffic on Route 589,” she said, adding that casino customers wouldn’t want to deal with traffic.

She acknowledged that the casino would like a hotel on the site but that it wouldn’t be targeting the vacationers who booked rooms in Ocean City.

“What we would be targeting with a hotel on our property … would be people who like to gamble and have the wallet share to be able to gamble…,” she said, adding that the casino knew who those people were because they used player’s cards at the casino. “We want to give them more reason to stay on our property for longer and more frequent trips.”

The casino, which has contributed $29 million in grants to the community since it opened, currently sends about half its revenue to the state and local communities, according to Sample.

“That becomes a partnership,” she said. “You depend on that money to take care of things in the county…We are in this together. As our business does better the area does better.”

A property owner from across the street, however, said the casino was just trying to find a way around the state restriction that prohibited a hotel on the property. He added that the casino had objected last year when properties across from Ocean Downs had been rezoned commercial. He said now they were seeking the same thing, which would “decimate” the efforts of those who’d had their properties zoned commercial in the corridor last year.

Susan Jones, representing the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association, also voiced objections to the casino’s proposal.

“For more than a decade we fought against the casinos for fear that that limited disposable income would be steered away from the mom and pop people who have built our community and go directly to the large gaming corporations,” she said, adding that there were also concerns that a casino would dilute the labor force. “We are very happy that did not happen however we believe that didn’t happen because we collectively collaborated on the original legislation.”

She said the lodging market in Ocean City was saturated — as 1,000 new hotel rooms had been added in the past few years — and that there needed to be more collaboration on the text amendment.

“We feel the way it is currently written and proposed today is far too broad,” she said.

Jones said the impact of the pandemic was still being felt in Ocean City.

“COVID has really driven a lot of tourist businesses to the brink,” she said. “This is a really hard time. We just urge you to take a pause. This decision you make today is a forever decision.”

Larry Perrone, president of the Ocean Pines Association, expressed support for the casino proposal. He said the community’s traffic concern had been addressed because the casino was willing to do a traffic study of all of Route 589, not just the section in front of the casino. He added that Ocean Pines used its annual grant from the casino to repair roads and could use more funding.

“If the casino is able to bring people in, ultimately everyone gets a little bigger piece of the pie,” he said.

Hale Harrison of the Harrison Group, which operates numerous hotels and restaurants in Ocean City, said his company was strongly opposed to the overlay zone. He said when the casino had been approved years ago a key aspect had been the prohibition on hotels there. He said that was the deal former casino owner Bill Rickman had made.

“They should honor the deal,” he said.

Rickman, however, spoke up in support of the casino proposal. He said he’d never wanted a hotel there but the current property owners should be able to have one. He pointed out that commercial property all around the casino could be used for hotels.

“Taking this ability away from Ocean Downs doesn’t stop hotels from being built in that area,” he said. “The reality of it is it’s a seasonal seasonal business. Nobody’s going to do it. A small hotel is all they’ll ever be able to support.”

He added that the casino was limited in the number of machines it could have.

“You’re never going to have Atlantic City here,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about that. We can’t support it.”

Rickman said the casino was not exploiting a loophole, as it had always been permitted to have a hotel if it was owned by a third party.

“I stay involved to the extent that I want to see them treated fairly,” he said. “This is a partnership between the county, the municipalities the state and the casino. You all get money from it. The important thing is to have responsible growth.”

casino impact slide

A graphic courtesy of the Ocean Downs Casino details the local impact grants.

He added that he’d chosen to sell the property to the current owners for a reason.

“I chose them because it was Churchill Downs and it was a legacy to me it would be racing and the casino,” he said. “It was a good way to leave it.”

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said he opposed the casino overlay zone and wanted the casino to abide by the original agreement that was made regarding no hotels.

“Mr. Rickman said it’s about a partnership,” Meehan said. “Well the original partnership was there would not be the expansion of hotels and these other amenities on that property. That was very clear. Time has passed, maybe some have forgotten. I have not forgotten. I don’t think the Harrisons have forgotten or the Jenkins or some of those others that sat there for hours with me in Annapolis when these hearings were taking place.”

Commissioner Chip Bertino, who made the motion to approve the casino overlay text amendment, said that Ocean Downs had been a good neighbor for the past 10 years and already dealt with an excessive tax of 46%. He said the casino’s owners should be able to develop their property to ensure they have growth in the coming years.

“I don’t believe government has the right to restrict businesses from doing business…,” he said. “What they’re trying to accomplish is going to benefit all of us if they can drive more people through the doors of that casino.”

Commissioner Diana Purnell agreed and said that as a business person she’d resent investing millions and being a good neighbor only to be told she couldn’t do something.

Commissioner Bud Church also spoke in support of the overlay zone and said the casino hadn’t negatively impacted the area.

“The addition to the casino would be a win-win for Worcester County…,” he said. “Looking at the future, we’re going to need every dollar, every cent, we can get.”

Mitrecic said the overlay zone went against everything Ocean City representatives fought for in Annapolis when the casino was approved. He questioned the usefulness of any associated Route 589 traffic study.

“I’ve never seen one that didn’t say what the person who paid for the traffic study wanted to hear,” he said.

He also cautioned that further development at the casino could lead to the elimination of the live harness racing that’s been held at the property for decades.

“That was one of the selling points, that this would help the racing community,” Mitrecic said of the initial casino approval. “I’d imagine that in time if we can we’ll do away with live racing there completely.”

Sample maintained that that was not the casino’s intention.

Mitrecic also brought up the fact that a hotel could cost $15 million to build.

“The amount of money they’d have to bring in the casino from these high rollers to support that is astronomical in order for them to comp the rooms like they want to,” he said. “It’s unfathomable.”

The commissioners voted 5-2, with Mitrecic and Bunting opposed, to approve the text amendment to create a casino entertainment district.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.