The premier event for real estate leaders and electeds in Maryland takes place some 2,400 miles from Baltimore at a gambling resort participants flock to under the premise that they’re there to attend a shopping center convention.

Welcome to The Maryland Party, where tonight 1,500 people will sip orange crush cocktails and quietly arrange real estate deals at the sprawling Encore Beach Club at Wynn Las Vegas.

“We’re the only state that does it,” says Howard L. Perlow, recalling how the event he founded has grown from a small dinner in 1998 for Baltimore real estate executives attending the International Council of Shopping Centers (ISCS) convention into a three-day extravaganza that’s “probably the highest in-demand ticket in Las Vegas” this week.

With scores of politicians, including Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier attending, Maryland and mid-Atlantic developers, brokers, lenders, lawyers, contractors and others are forking out big bucks to underwrite the festivities.

The Brew’s review of sponsors and sponsorship levels indicates that at least $2.1 million was paid out to underwrite this year’s festivities, whose attraction to the business community was spelled out earlier this month by the party’s founder:

“It’s a place that you can talk and try to do business. I mean Mark Sapperstein, who developed all of McHenry Row and most of Canton Shopping Center – all those deals were done out there. The ShopRite store is my old college roommate, Andy Klein, out there [who] met Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and committed to build on Liberty Heights a beautiful 70,000 square-foot ShopRite for the community, for Baltimore.

“The amount of business that goes on is huge,” Perlow told Baltimore radio personality Nestor Aparicio earlier this month.

And so are the rewards to Perlow.

Poolside Packages

“One of the many advantages to sponsoring The Maryland Party™ networking events,” says the company’s website, “is access for you and your guests to our exclusive Wynn/Encore room block. You and your approved guests will receive access to all of the resort amenities; including wi-fi, fitness center, and private pool area.”

Sponsorships start at $7,500, and Baltimore Gas & Electric, St. John Properties, CFG Bank, Atlas Restaurant Group and several others, have purchased multiple packages that range up to $37,500 each.

Other sponsors include the Cordish Companies ($31,000), owner of the Maryland Live! casino; MCB Real Estate ($18,500), owner and prospective developer of Harborplace; Mark Sapperstein’s 28 Walker ($20,000); Greenberg Gibbons ($31,000), a major Baltimore County developer; Caves Valley Partners ($20,000), owner of Metro West and other Baltimore area holdings; and Bohler Engineering ($75,000), which helps developers secure data center permitting in Maryland ($75,000).

Private cabanas can be rented from $18,500 to $20,000 depending on the location.

And because some state and local agencies also pay for sponsorships, such as the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corp. ($35,000 this year) and the Maryland Departments of Transportation and Commerce ($17,500 each), Perlow implied that the meets-and-greets he helps arrange have state sanction.

“New York has a party – and they serve cocktails with nothing to eat,” he sniffed to Aparicio.

Crucially, though, the sponsorship money is paid to Perlow’s private company, Maryland Real Estate Convention LLC, that has no connection to Maryland government or to the ICSC convention, which is located at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Perlow said his initial idea was to piggyback with the annual convention because it attracts so many people from around the world.

That was important at first. “We trap them . . . and everyone gets time to see who they want to see,” he told Aparicio.

But nowadays, he said, people flying in from Maryland often don’t even attend the convention.

“Most of our people just hang around the Wynn,” where private cabanas can be rented from $18,500 to $20,000 depending on the location, and poolside bar sponsorships start at $8,500.

$34,000 for Travel, Registration Fees

In contrast to Perlow’s description of how the Maryland Party functions are the reasons why six Baltimore politicians say they flew to Las Vegas over the weekend, most of them staying in Wynn hotel rooms reserved for party participants.

There’s no mention of the Maryland Party in their travel request forms.

Instead, they uniformly say they went to Vegas to learn more about real estate at the ICSC conference and hope to meet and persuade commercial interests to invest in Baltimore.

Mayor Scott’s goal is to “explore new opportunities for innovating commerce and innovative ways to serve diverse communities such as the City of Baltimore,” according to his request for $3,117.95 in public funds, including $850 to register at ICSC:

Councilman Antonio Glover says he’s in Vegas “to acquire valuable insights into industry trends, gather market intelligence and connect with developers, investors, retailers and service providers,” while City Council President Zeke Cohen says “his attendance will give him valuable insight into how he can propel Baltimore into a brighter future.”

Altogether, the city is paying $34,109 for six electeds – Scott, Glover and Cohen, plus council members Mark Conway, Jermaine Jones and Sharon Green Middleton – and three Scott aides – Deputy Mayor Justin Williams, Chief of Staff Calvin A. Young III and Special Advisor Marvin James – to attend the convention. (Marvin James in particular has been traveling extensively on behalf of the mayor.)

Except for Cohen, who is using transition funds previously allocated to his office to cover some of his costs, city officials are getting up to $1,660 above the government rate for hotel and meal charges because of the elevated prices for hotel rooms at the Wynn.

Prison Time and a Pardon

About to turn 72, Perlow says he’s been holding the Maryland Party for 28 years to benefit the city he loves.

“I do it for Baltimore. I’m Baltimore-focused. I’ve been here all my life,” he told Aparicio, skipping the difficult parts in his career.

A high-flying real estate lawyer, Perlow became ensnarled in a high-profile title insurance fraud case in the late 1980s. The Maryland Attorney General’s office found that about $1.8 million missing from Bay State Title, then the largest title company in Baltimore.

In October 1990, Perlow pleaded guilty to misappropriating $304,000 from Bay State and another title company, admitting in a statement of facts that he wrote fraudulent checks, falsified entries on settlement sheets and loaned large amount of money to himself, at times to buy jewelry, clothing and other personal items.

He served prison time and lost his law license, only to stage a remarkable comeback.

After starting a new company, Residential Title & Escrow, he was pardoned in 2002 by then-Gov. Parris Glendening.

Five years later, he established the networking company that transformed a casual dinner into three days of intense schmoozing and dealmaking far from home. His success proved the astuteness of the slogan, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” coined by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Campaign Dollars and a Reprimand

At the same time, Perlow became a major political donor in local races, funneling thousands of dollars to Baltimore mayors, county executives, and city and suburban council members.

One recipient of his largess, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, appointed him in 2011 to the County Planning Board, which rules on critical zoning issues.

In August 2020, Perlow was cited by the County Ethics Commission, based on an investigation by Inspector General Kelly Madigan, of improperly participating in  a zoning matter where he had a direct interest.

“Your participation in the discussions leading up to the votes on those matters and your advocacy during those discussions regarding the matters under consideration constituted a violation of the ethics laws,” the commission said.

A reprimand from the county ethics commission didn’t stop Johnny Olszewski from reappointing Perlow to the Planning Board.

The reprimand didn’t stop County Executive Johnny Olszewski from reappointing Perlow to a fourth term in 2022. It wasn’t until December 2024, after county voters approved “Question C” that placed term limits on Planning Board members, that he was finally retired from the board.

Perlow says tonight’s Maryland Party is on track to be the biggest and best ever.

He and his hardworking assistant, Terry Anne Hearn, have arranged for an Oscar Night-inspired evening.

Partygoers are told to wear a bold color, sequins, metallics or a piece of statement jewelry.

“Be ready to strike a pose for the paparazzi in red-carpet-inspired attire,” they advise. “You may as well have some fun!”

• To reach a reporter: reuttermark@yahoo.com