Anne Arundel County has been waiting, if that’s the word, for slot machines for about seven years now. What’s another few months?

Well, to two of the most powerful men in the state, quite a lot.

Gov. Martin O’Malley and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., hungry to get their hands on millions in slots revenue, are blasting the County Council for dragging its feet on approving zoning laws to allow gambling in the county.

Miller was quoted in The Baltimore Sun as saying: “This business that’s happening in Anne Arundel County is criminal. We need to remove any obstacles and roadblocks in terms of implementing slots and get that program off the ground immediately.”

It’s just criminal, all right, this business of duly elected lawmakers of a county deciding whether they believe something is in the best interest of the citizens they represent. Where do they get off?

The process of representative, deliberative government can be so inconvenient. All those … roadblocks and such.

But the thing is, the law that put the slots referendum on the ballot explicitly gave local jurisdictions the ability to block slots. That law (which Miller voted for, by the way) says: “A video lottery facility shall comply with all applicable planning and zoning laws of the local jurisdiction.”

And right now, slots don’t comply with zoning laws in Anne Arundel County, so without a new law, the Cordish Cos.’ plan to put 4,750 slot machines at Arundel Mills is dead.

An O’Malley spokesman said the governor met with council Chairwoman Cathy Vitale recently, but declined to characterize the conversation.

Vitale, who couldn’t be reached for comment, has said the council will wait until the state slots location commission decides on Cordish’s bid to vote on zoning changes. That makes sense, since the project can’t start without state approval – though it can also be interpreted as a way for council members to put off a tough vote a bit longer.

“We were put in a tough place, and we didn’t ask to be put there,” said Councilman Jamie Benoit, an ardent slots opponent. “Now the people who put us in a bad position are complaining that they put us in a bad position.”

Everyone thought it was a done deal when the voters approved slots in November. But that’s not how it works.

“I wish the Anne Arundel County Council would make a decision,” O’Malley told horse industry leaders recently, according to The Washington Post. “Tell them to stop postponing and make a decision. It’s holding the rest of us up from moving forward.”

But the governor doesn’t just want “a decision.” He wants his decision because the state can’t “move forward” on slots in Anne Arundel if the council votes no.

County Executive John R. Leopold supports the zoning change since almost 60 percent of county residents voted for slots. But said he respects “the legislative process” and the council’s decision to take its time.

“There’s 30 million reasons to be patient,” Leopold said, referring to the projected $30 million a year the county would get from slots revenues.

House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Annapolis, is a slots opponent. But he said it’s the County Council’s responsibility to allow gambling now that the voters have spoken. He said the local zoning provision was meant to give counties control over where a facility goes, not whether they have slots at all.

But it’s the council’s responsibility to weigh the voters’ will against other factors, like the state’s need for revenue and whether they believe Arundel Mills is a good site. It’s not an easy call.

“It shouldn’t just be, ‘Well, 60 percent voted for it. Close the doors; batten down the hatches; we’re having gambling,’ ” Benoit said. “The state saw to it to give us the local veto, which essentially allows us to ignore the results of the referendum. … They gave us the ability to say ‘No.’ ”

The smart money is still on the council ultimately saying “Yes,” for those 30 million reasons and more. There will be incredible pressure from the state if the council votes no, so this is probably all postponing the inevitable. But maybe, just maybe …

“It’s the council’s decision to make,” Benoit said. “Unfortunately, it’s not Mike Miller’s or Governor O’Malley’s. Maybe members of the council are coming to terms with the idea that the interests of the state don’t always line up with the interests of the county.”