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ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES Maryland tracks, including Pimlico, are aging facilities unable to reap the financial benefits provided by slot machines and casinos. Neighboring states, meanwhile, have developed glitzy casinos at their now-sparkling tracks.

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Queen Elizabeth II signs the visitor's book at Aras An Uachtarain, the Irish president's residence in Phoenix Park in Dublin on Tuesday. Irish President Mary McAleese; her husband, Dr. Martin McAleese (left); and Prince Philip look on. Politicians on both side of the Irish Sea have described the four-day event as momentous.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY DREW ANGERER/THE WASHINGTON TIMES Jeff Lim-Sharpe, of La Plata, Md., lets go of his club in frustration after an errant tee shot on the last hole during the U.S. Open local qualifying tournament at Worthington Manor Golf Club, in Urbana, Md.

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Capt. Jack Sparrow stars in Lego Pirates of the Caribbean.

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Rows of slot machines line the casino floor at Charles Town Races in West Virginia, Wednesday, April 19, 2006. ( Peter Lockley / The Washington TImes )

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Joe Stumpf, 54, lifts weights during a workout designed to mirror a Navy SEAL training regimen at the SEALFIT exercise center in Encinitas, Calif. "If you really want to find out what's happening in Afghanistan ... you can come here and get a taste," he said.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS Men race walk through traffic carrying kettlebells as part of a workout designed to mirror Navy SEAL training at the SEALFIT exercise center in Encinitas, Calif. Since a SEAL team's takedown of Osama bin Laden, interest is growing in fitness programs run by former members of the elite force.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS The Moroccan-inspired domes and sign of the Sahara hotel and casino stand out on the Las Vegas Strip on Tuesday, when it closed in its 59th year of operation. Some of the biggest names in show business played, stayed and entertained at the Sahara. The future of the site is unknown.

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John Harrington sits Monday in the back yard of his friend's house as he watches the rising waters of the Atchafalaya River approach the property in Melville, La. (Associated Press)

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A monogrammed walking stick from St. Petersburg, circa 1780, was among the Russian pieces that were to be displayed.

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The Go-Go's are going on tour this summer and releasing a 30th anniversary edition of the album "Beauty and the Beat."

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Space shuttle Endeavour leaves a smoke trail as it flies off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Tim Donnelly)

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Palestinian protesters take cover after Israeli soldiers opened fire at them during a rally marking "nakba," or "catastrophe," the term used by Palestinians to describe the uprooting they suffered at the time of Israel's founding on May 15, 1948, in the southern border village of Maroun el-Rass, Leb(...)

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Palestinian protesters take cover after Israeli soldiers opened fire at them during a rally marking "nakba," or "catastrophe," the term used by Palestinians to describe the uprooting they suffered at the time of Israel's founding on May 15, 1948, in the southern border village of Maroun el-Rass, Leb(...)

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Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, a son of former Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi's, speaks to the media at a press conference in a hotel in Tripoli, Libya, in February 2011. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Tom Hogue, an Arlington resident who rides his bicycle to and from work every weekday, rides home in the bike lane along 15th Street in the District. "I don't have a problem with anything that brings more people into commuting on a bicycle," he said of National Bike to Work Week, which starts Monday. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell hits from the sand onto the 11th green during the rain-delayed third round of the Players Championship golf tournament on Sunday, May 15, 2011, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Severe thunderstorms delayed the completion of the third round Saturday. (AP Photo/Lynne Slakdy)