Deal with this: Maryland gamblers soon may not have to leave the state to play Las Vegas (and Atlantic City, and Biloxi, and New Orleans, and...) style card games.

The state Senate has given its preliminary approval to a bill that would allow card games at the Rosecroft Raceway in Prince George's County pending a voter-supported constitutional amendment.

The debate on the measure will be carried over to next week, because senators adopted a potentially unconstitutional amendment requiring that a majority of Prince George's County voters - not just state voters - approve the ballot question for it to pass, according to a story in The Sun.

The politicians in Annapolis clearly are infatuated with the potential dollars licensing and taxing gambling establishments have the potential to bring into the state coffers. If card games are okay'd for Rosecraft, you can bet your bottom dollar that craps in the Inner Harbor will only be a matter of time (no, that wasn't meant to be a pun).

Personally I think it would be wise for lawmakers to first worry about clearing the way for these slots parlors that we've heard so much about, but have yet to suck a single nickel. Spreading gambling is a slippery slope, so we better be sure that we're comfortable with a Maryland with myriad casinos before passing this bill.