An aerial view of the National Harbor. Photo by M.V. Jantzen

If Walt Disney didn’t want a to build a resort hotel at the National Harbor, a high-end casino would seem like a good alternative, right? That’s what Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker is hoping.

The Post reports today that Baker has endorsed a plan to bring a $1 billion high-end casino to the National Harbor, a move he says would bring in $50 million in revenue for the county. Baker, who once opposed bringing slot machines to the state, says that the county needs as many sources of revenue as possible, and a high-end gambling destination in the $2 billion National Harbor development provides the best opportunities with the fewest drawbacks.

Opponents beg to differ, of course. Some are simply opposed to gambling, while others are concerned about how much the county will have to sink into the project to entice a developer to build a casino of the quality Baker envisions. Baker may have public opinion on his side, though — a recent Post poll found that 57 percent of all Maryland residents and the same number of Prince George’s County residents favor slot machines in new locations throughout the state, while 54 percent of Maryland residents and 56 percent of Prince George’s County residents think that existing slot machine casinos have been good for the state.

Baker’s endorsement of a casino that close to the District is a marked difference from gambling’s fortunes in the city. An Internet gambling bill was only recently repealed by the D.C. Council, and initiatives for riverboat gambling and slot machines proposed in 1998 and 2004, respectively, went nowhere. Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At Large), Internet gambling’s chief proponent, said he will introduce a stand-alone bill legalizing the games in the near future.