Serial Entrepreneur E. Randolph Marriner's Bipartisan Approach Fueled Business Success and Gaming Oversight
E. Randolph Marriner's decades of entrepreneurial ventures and bipartisan political engagement demonstrate how strategic relationships and overcoming dyslexia shaped his business success while serving four governors on Maryland's gaming commission.
E. Randolph Marriner, a 75-year-old serial entrepreneur who served on Maryland's gaming commission under four governors, will be honored by Leadership Howard County for his community stewardship and business leadership. Marriner's career spans multiple industries from marketing to real estate development, restaurants, brewing, and now live events production through Manor Hill Productions, which grossed $17 million last year with corporate clients including 7-Eleven and AMD.
Beginning in 2003, Marriner was appointed by four different governors - two Republicans and two Democrats - to the commission overseeing Maryland's gaming operations, chairing the commission for six and half years. This position placed him at the center of what has become the state's second largest revenue source, overseeing the lottery's expansion to include slots, six full casinos with table games, and finally sports gambling.
Tim Payne, president and CEO of Leadership Howard County, noted that Marriner "earned respect not only through success but through perseverance," adding that "he weathered challenges with grit and grace, always finding ways to help others along the way." Marriner's recent health challenges included quadruple bypass surgery and complications from a January accident at Penn Station in New York where an abrupt escalator stop caused head injuries requiring 14 staples, a fractured femur requiring hip replacement, and a crushed lung.
Marriner's political engagement stems from his family's highway construction business, where he learned early that "if you had a problem, and if you could get access to the people [who made decisions], by and large they want to help you." As a registered Republican who describes himself as a "centrist," Marriner has practiced bipartisan political giving, with records showing he, his wife Mary, and his businesses have donated over $120,000 to dozens of elected officials from both parties over the past 20 years.
His contributions have included support for Democrat Guy Guzzone, now chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, both Howard County Executive Calvin Ball (Democrat) and former County Executive Allan Kittleman (Republican), Republican Governor Larry Hogan, and Democratic Governor Wes Moore. Marriner explains this approach simply: "If you want to be at the table, you need to buy a table. If I give to you, that gives me the opportunity to say 'Hi, you got a minute?'"
This access has helped Marriner navigate legislative and zoning challenges for businesses like Victoria's Gastro Pub and Manor Hill Farm brewery. Most of his ventures have involved his wife Mary and their two daughters, with daughter Rachael and her husband Corey now running Manor Hill Productions. Marriner attributes his entrepreneurial drive to dyslexia, which he says forced him to "look at things differently" and likely includes some ADHD that makes him enjoy building businesses.
Reflecting on his dyslexia diagnosis later in life, Marriner noted that being placed "with the dumb kids" in first grade meant "school was not really my friend, but I had to figure it out, and I just took a different path." He follows his father's advice to "hang around with people that are smarter than you and bring them in as part of your thing and reward their performance," a philosophy that has guided his diverse business successes across multiple industries while maintaining significant civic engagement.