A disclaimer: I find pretending to know what I’m doing while playing blackjack an incredible thrill. I mean, there’s just something about the game that makes losing money in moderation seem a lot more fun than it really is. Also: free (albeit watered down) booze. So you can imagine my excitement when I read that Prince George’s County and the Maryland legislature was considering a bill that would legalize card gaming within the confines of the Washington metropolitan area. Finally, a place where I can throw my money away on something other than slot machines without that harrowing four-hour drive or a game I so kindly refer to as “let’s try not to think about what’s happened in this Atlantic City hotel room last weekend!”

Annapolis Senators kinda sorta decided yesterday to open the door to card gaming at Rosecroft Raceway just outside the Beltway in Fort Washington, pending the results of a voter-supported constitutional amendment. But of course, with a hot-button issue like legalized gambling, nothing is ever that easy. The approval of card games in P.G. County still faces many legislative hurdles, including lawmakers who believe that such an amendment should be voted on statewide.

It bears repeating that Maryland is still struggling to get their slot machine program, approved in 2008, really going. So what do you think: if Rosecroft — but a 23 minute drive from downtown D.C. — does get a card game license, would you go?