Maryland Casino Revenues Soar 26% To $82m In September
October 13, 2014 2:04 pmThe Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency has released its casino results for September, revealing a huge 26% rise in revenues to $82.4 million compared to the same month last year. However, excluding the Horseshoe Baltimore, which opened its doors for the first time on August 26th, state revenues would actually have fallen by 8% compared to September 2013.
More worryingly, total revenues for Maryland’s casino industry were up by just $2 million compared to the previous month, indicating even with a fifth casino the market had remained roughly the same size and was reaching a saturation point. Nevertheless, the slight $2 million in extra revenues was greeted with guarded optimism by David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, who said:
“It does seem like the new casino is expanding the market if overall revenues are up. But you don’t want to make a trend from one month.”
Breaking the figures down further, Maryland Live generated $45.5 million in revenues in September, down 9.8% from a year earlier, and ending a period of consistent gains since the state’s largest casino opened in June 2012. However, Maryland Live president Rob Norton seemed unconcerned and explained that the reduction was “far better than what most of the state’s analysts projected.”
Meanwhile, the brand new Horseshoe Baltimore built 13 miles from Maryland Live, raked in an impressive $22.3 million in revenues last month, far outpacing the Hollywood Casino in Perryville down 10.7% to $5.9 million, the Casino at Ocean Downs down 2.9% to $4.9 million, and the Rocky Gap Casino Resort up 16.2% to $3.7 million in September.
Finally, the Center for Gaming Research in Nevada released its annual revenue figures recently, showing Maryland casinos enjoyed a 32% improvement in business during fiscal 2013, the only Mid-Atlantic state to report a significant revenue increase between 2012 and 2013, compared to Delaware, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania where revenues were flat.