Slot machines are the worst kind of gambling. They draw you in with their flashing lights and goofy themes, but require nothing more of you than your ability to sit on a stool and spend increasing amounts of money. There’s none of the mathematics, bluffing, or complex decision-making required by actual card games. So the idea of a slot machine that costs $500 to play once is, frankly, a little horrifying to me.
A $1 million house used to sound pretty fancy. Even now, seven figures can buy you something quite nice in a lot of places around the country. In San Francisco, however, it’s barely enough to afford a 1,500 square foot apartment.
Courtesy of Citybizlist – Of Americans who gave gifts of $1 million or more in 2011, six were Maryland residents, topped by George L. Bunting and Anne Bunting
Another five donors (who gave gifts of $1 million or more) to Maryland-based institutions resided out of state. John Malone, from Colorado, led that group with a $30 million gift to Johns Hopkins University, Whiting School of Engineering.
In December, citybizlist reported that Maryland was the second most charitable state in the country.
Below are two charts with data provided by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The first represents gifts where the donor resided in Maryland, the second where the donor was out of state. When both the donor and recipient were located in Maryland, the gifts are included in the first chart. Footnotes are provided under each.
Maryland as Donor State
Maryland Institute College of Art, in Baltimore, has received a pledge of $10-million from George L. Bunting Jr. and Anne Bunting to expand graduate studies and for research. Mr. Bunting is the president of Bunting Management Group, an investment firm, and former chairman and chief executive officer of Noxell Corporation, the maker of Noxzema skin cream. He is a former longtime member of the school’s Board of Trustees.
The University of Maryland at College Park has received $10-million from Edward St. John, founder and chairman of St. John Properties, a commercial real-estate development company in Baltimore, to create and name the Teaching and Learning Center. Mr. St. John graduated from the university in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
George Washington U. (Washington): $8-million pledge from A. James Clark, chief executive of Clark Enterprises, a construction company in Bethesda, Md., to establish a scholarship fund for prospective students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Mr. Clark is a trustee emeritus, and his company is building a science and engineering complex for the university.
Dominican U. of California (San Rafael): $2-million bequest from H.B. Yin and Lillian L.Y. Wang Yin for an endowed professorship in chemistry and for a scholarship fund for students majoring in chemistry or majoring in a science while minoring in chemistry. Ms. Wang Yin coordinated efforts on human subject protection and clinical investigators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Regulatory Affairs. She died in 2000. Mr. Yin died in 2010.
Loyola U. Maryland (Baltimore): $1-million bequest from the estate of Alexander M. Haig Jr., a former U.S. Army general who served as Secretary of State during the Reagan administration. The money will establish the Alexander M. Haig Jr. Endowment Fund for Science, Faith, and Culture. Mr. Haig died in 2010.
Baltimore School for the Arts: $1-million gift from Patricia and Mark Joseph for its endowment. Mr. Joseph is chairman of Municipal Mortgage and Equity, in Baltimore, and a co-founder of the school.
