Edgewater, Davidsonville Residents Mixed Over Casino Grand Opening

upon the new in Hanover Wednesday night to celebrate the grand opening of the new gaming and entertainment facility. 

Several parts of the complex are still incomplete, but Wednesday's opening still made for a big night for .

Having lived in Severn for more than a year, I covered many of the casino's updates as it came to fruition. But last night, all the development, construction and planning finally paid off as the facility offered a larger-than-life party atmosphere—there was a woman on stilts greeting guests, too.

Now living right between Annapolis and Edgewater, I'm glad I won't have to deal with casino traffic. However, I was interested to see how residents in the Edgewater and Davidsonville area felt about the Maryland Live! casino.

The largest concern expressed by Patch readers on Facebook focused on traffic congestion and overcrowding issues.

"Last night's grand opening was a joke—very disorganized, lack of crowd and traffic control," said Wendy Lee on Patch's Facebook page. "30,000 VIP passes were handed out prior to the opening and at 11 p.m. they were at capacity and turning people away."

Linda Herbert Lee was one of those with a VIP pass and said she got in at about 7 p.m. However, she said the room was already crowded and traffic was bad even before the casino opened to the general public.

"It was crazy. But I won $45!" Lee said. 

Some readers expressed indifference toward the casino, but a few others said they were glad to see Maryland money "stay in Maryland." 

How excited are you about the Maryland Live! casino in Hanover?