By Mike Sarzo

On Tuesday, Maryland voters will go to the polls to pick the next president. Whether your choice is Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), it is a time honored right for Americans to help decide the country's course for the next four years.

As almost everyone has heard, Marylanders will also have a different kind of decision to make on Nov. 4. Namely, they will decide whether to add an amendment to the state's constitution legalizing slot machine gambling.

I'm sure you've all heard the arguments on both sides. Arguments in favor of slots include: adding slots at racetracks is needed for the horse racing industry to survive. The money will go to Maryland's schools. Marylanders are helping Pennsylvania's and West Virginia's schools improve by gambling out of state.

Those opposed say slots revenue will not go to education, as some of the ads in favor of slots have argued. That money will go to the state's general fund, according to an anti-slots group. They also say that an annual average of $400 million leaving the state is a small fraction of the state's overall budget. In addition, a story in Monday's Washington Times reported that a survey indicated that Maryland's projected $660 million in slots revenue is based on "optimistic" assumptions. In addition, the story also reported that Delaware and West Virginia have posted declines in gambling revenue for the first time in over a decade.

One of the pro-slots advertisements posted on popular online video site YouTube made prominent mention of the Maryland State Teachers Association's endorsement of slots. Meanwhile, the Prince George's County Teachers Association took no position in spite of several attempts to endorse the legislation, according to one teacher.

The thought of enshrining slots machine gambling in the state's constitution alone should be enough to give pause. However, the current economic climate makes it extremely hard to believe that lawmakers in Annapolis or in any county seat could endorse a plan to take hard-earned, hard to come by money out of the pockets of Marylanders for a deal that may not be as sweet as advertised.

Yes, Maryland is hurting. So is much of the rest of the country. According to an Oct. 21 ABC News report, 27 states are currently in recession and 14 more are in danger of joining them. Maryland is among the 14 states in jeopardy. Prince George's County has consistently led the state in mortgage foreclosures, to the point where the county's State's Attorney's Office created a unit specifically to attack mortgage fraud. And this is the environment in which we want to add slots?

Those who argue for slots threaten to increase taxes and reduce or eliminate services if voters shoot down the slot machine referendum. But Comptroller Peter Franchot, a staunch opponent of slots, said there are better ways to ensure funding of vital state services. I urge lawmakers at the state and local levels to find other means of supporting key services.

I applaud those who can go to a gambling Mecca such as Las Vegas or Atlantic City, N.J. and not put their mortgage money at risk. However, putting slot machines near a county that has had to struggle with crime and is facing an economic malaise is the wrong medicine at the wrong time.