Major gaming company interested in Baltimore

Developer Patrick Turner is working with a mega resort and casino company to win the Baltimore gaming license and build a slots parlor south of M&T Bank Stadium.

Turner attended the state slots commission meeting Wednesday with Jim Seay, another partner in the venture. The pair declined to comment then, but Seay sent a statement later that night confirming the group’s interest in the license.

The full statement is as follows:

Our local development team, which includes MGM, was certainly working diligently towards the anticipated submittal date. Our team has invested significantly in the process in both time and expense. We respect the decision to extend the bid date and are hopeful that during the extension an effort is made to make the overall business model more attractive to the investment community.

MGM is one of the biggest names in Las Vegas, with the massive MGM Grand rising on the south end of the strip. Beyond that, the company  owns 14 other gaming properties, including big names like Bellagio, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage.

And Turner is one of the biggest names in Baltimore development. His $1.2 billion, mixed-use Westport project is just a mile from the proposed casino site on Russell and Warner streets.

Seay is president of Premier Rides, a roller coaster and amusement park ride design company in Baltimore. And as The Sun pointed out in a blog post yesterday, Seay was a member of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s delegation of business leaders on the state’s recent trade mission to Asia.

Seay has declined to comment beyond his statement, so there’s no word if a successful MGM bid would include something like this, the Poltergeist roller coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.

The company also does log flume rides, go-karts and water-based rides, which would certainly spice up the blocks and blocks of warehouses that sit where the casino will, one day, be built.