Maryland Casinos Up 3.7% to $100M in August

Maryland’s casinos have continued their unprecedented run in 2016, and in August reported their ninth consecutive month of revenue growth. Furthermore, last month’s total also topped $100 million for the fourth time in five months, having only broke the psychological significant threshold for the first time in April.
All told, Maryland’s five casinos collected revenues of $100.3 million in August, up by 3.7% compared to the same month in 2015. Leading the Free State’s casino market in August was its largest operation, Maryland Live, which generated $55.9 million in revenues, higher by 7.2% year-over-year. That figure was only slightly lower than the casino’s second-highest total ever of $60.4 million in July of this year, and its highest total of $61.8 million posted in March 2014.
Maryland’s other casino operations, with the exception of Hollywood Casino Perryville, also noted modest year-over-year growth, with the Rocky Gap Casino Resort up 3.4% to $4.5 million; Ocean Downs in Worcester County up 2.1% to $6.2 million; and the Horseshoe up 0.5% to $27.7 million in August.
Bucking the trend, however, was the Hollywood Casino Perryville which saw its revenues plummet by 9.5% to $5.9 million last month.
By the end of 2016, Maryland is expected to open its sixth and final casino in Prince George’s County located a little over 100 miles from Washington, D.C. At a cost of $1.3 billion, the MGM National Harbor resort will include a casino floor with 3,600 slot machines and 140 table games, as well as a 4.5 stars hotel with 234 guest rooms, and 74 luxury suites. The resort is also expected to employ around 3,600 workers, and as MGM National Harbor General Manager Bill Boasberg explains:
“This is really going to change the game in this area from an experience standpoint. We operate some of the most high-luxury resorts in the world between Bellagio and Aria and Mandalay Bay and the Mirage, and this rivals them in every aspect.”