Columbus, OH --- Voters in Maryland said “yes,” voters in Ohio said “no,” and voters in Massachusetts put an entire pari-mutuel industry out of business.

In Maryland, with 97 percent of the precincts reporting as of this writing, voters approved the legalization of slot machines by a 59 to 41 percent margin.

The measure allows the installation of a total of 15,000 slot machines split between five locations in the state. Seven percent of the slot machine revenue -- as much as $100 million split among the breeds -- would go towards funding purses at the state’s racetracks, including Rosecroft. The Ft. Washington raceway, however, will not be able to open its own slot machine parlor because it is not in one of the locations specified.

In Ohio, early polling showed that voters approved the legalization of a single casino, which was to be located in Clinton County, approximately half-way between Columbus and Cincinnati. Then, anti-casino forces flexed their muscle in the final weeks before Tuesday’s election and the measure was soundly defeated.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s Web site shows that 62.8 percent of voters said “no” and only 37.2 percent voted “yes.” The measure passed in only five of Ohio’s 88 counties.

By comparison, in 2006, when voters in Ohio were asked to approve slot machines at the state’s racetracks, the margin of defeat was 57 to 43. Ohio voters, in the past few years, have soundly defeated four measures that would have expanded legal gambling in the state.

In Massachusetts, a second try at outlawing pari-mutuel Greyhound racing was successful; the margin, according to the Boston Globe, was 56 to 44 percent with more than two-thirds of the votes counted.

The campaign against dog racing in Massachusetts, which will now be outlawed there after 2010, was successfully waged by animal rights activists. The vote will close both Raynham and Taunton racetracks, put approximately 1,000 workers out of a job, and mean a loss of revenue to both communities.