MD Casino Gambling -- Soon With Table Games, Hurricane Sandy Relief, and Baltimore's Police Commissioner Is Officially Sworn In

Caesars Entertainment Corporation has announced new plans for the Casino it plans to put up in Baltimore. Instead of calling it "Harrah's Baltimore" -- as originially expected -- Caesars is calling it "Horseshoe Baltimore"... aligning it with a higher-end brand designed to appeal to younger crowds. Only seven of Caeser's 39 casinos in teh US carry the "Horseshoe" brand. It's a brand associated with table games -- specifically, poker; indeed, the original "Horseshoe" casino is known as the birthplace of the World Series of Poker. And now that Maryland voters have legalized table games at the state's casinos, Caesars says it wants to focus on poker and blackjack; the facility will have a poker room, as well as up to 110 other game tables. Those, plus the slot machines that the casino was already planning to have (via our wire service, the Baltimore Sun, and the Baltimore Business Journal).

Meanwhile, the Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills has announced plans to hire 12-hundred new employees to staff table games now that they have been legalized. The casino also says they will be purchasing tables and equipment in order to get their table gaming operation up and running as soon as possible. The Maryland Lottery Commission has said that table games could be up and running early next year (via our wire service).

Howard Community College is gearing up to help students find jobs in the state's casinos, once table games are operational. The College's "Casino Management Program" is expecting to see an uptick in enrollment -- as students seek the skills needed to deal hands of blackjack and poker, spin roulette wheels, and rake in chips on the craps table (via the Baltimore Business Journal).

On today's edition of Inside Maryland Politics, WYPR Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith talks to The Baltimore Sun's Julie Sharper about Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's advocacy for the gambling expansion in the recent election.

Baltimore's 37th police commissioner has now been officially sworn in. Yesterday, Anthony W. Batts formally took the office that he's been holding since late September (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

The Baltimore School Police Union has cast a "no confidence" vote in their police chief, Marshall "Toby" Goodwin. The school police union has sent a letter to City Schools CEO Andres Alonso, saying that Goodwin has ignored or failed to respond to communication on issues relevant to union members. The union plans to discuss the reasons for the "no-confidence" vote at a meeting on Monday... and union leaders will meet with city school management later this month (via the Baltimore Sun).

The union that represents 50 employees involved in blood drive operations for the region's Red Cross chapter has threatened to strike, starting Friday of next week, if a new contract hasn't been reached. The Greater Chesapeake and Potomoc Blood Services Region is warning that a work stoppage could harm relief efforts for areas hit by Hurricane Sandy (via the Baltimore Sun).

The Baltimore Orioles are asking fans to join the team in supporting Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. The club is hoping to fill two or three large moving vans and drive the needed supplies directly to devastated areas along the New Jersey shoreline. A list of most-needed items is on the Orioles website and fans can drop off donations at Oriole Park today. Last week, Major League Baseball and the Players' Association announced a one-million-dollar donation to help with hurricane relief efforts (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun). 

The Frederick County school system's class of 2011 had the lowest dropout rate in the state. The class's 5.05 percent dropout rate narrowly beat rates in Carroll and Howard Counties... both of which were under 6 percent. Maryland's highest dropout rate for the class of 2011 was in Somerset County -- where it was just below 20 percent (via the Gazette).

Plans to construct a new stadium in downtown Hagerstown could be in doubt, following Tuesday's election (via the Hagerstown Herald-Mail).

Smoking restrictions could soon become even tighter in Montgomery County. At-Large Council member Nancy Floreen is expected to announce next Thursday that she will introduce a measure banning smoking on county property (via our wire service and the Washington Post).

Prohibition is coming to an end in the Montgomery County town of Damascus. On Tuesday, voters decided to finally end a long ban on restaurants serving alcohol (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

And in sports: the Ravens host the Oakland Raiders on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens lead the AFC North at 6-and-2.