Maryland's slots licensing commission meets today and could decide whether to reject the bids for casinos at Rocky Gap and Laurel Park that were not accompanied by required licensing fees. But even if they do throw out those bids, that's surely not the end of the road, at least not for Magna Entertainment Corp.'s proposed racino at Laurel.

Gadi Dechter reports today that lawyers for the Maryland Jockey Club (a Magna subsidiary) have filed a protest arguing that the bid specs written into the slots law are unconstitutional. As they read it, the law doesn't allow for a refund of the licensing fees -- some $28 million in the case of the Laurel bid -- if the casino is blocked by a local zoning law. And they say the state constitution doesn't allow non-refundable bids.

It's an intersting argument, but apparently worries about the refundability of the licensing fee didn't faze the Cordish Cos. in its bid for a competing slots site at Arundel Mills Mall. And it didn't stop bidders for the Baltimore, Cecil County or Worcester County sites.

But what it means, almost for sure, is that somebody is going to take this to court, and that would delay -- for weeks, months, years? -- the day when the first quarters get dropped into the first Maryland slot machines, something the cash-strapped state can ill afford right now.

It might not be so good for Magna, either; as the owner of two racetracks in the state, the company stands to benefit (indirectly) from tens of millions in purse subsidies funded by the slots bill and (directly) from millions more in racetrack improvement funds written into the legislation. Maryland may need some quick cash from slots, but Magna's not exactly rolling in profits either, so if it pushes a lawsuit, it better be sure it can win.