Maryland Casino Revenues Hit Record $80m In August
September 8, 2014 11:02 amLast month, Maryland added a fifth state casino to its gambling mix and it didn’t take long for the effects to be felt, either, after the state reported a record-breaking month in August with revenues topping $80 million, smashing the previous record of $77.8 million set in March. The monthly tally represented a 5.4% improvement over the $76 million generated in July.
Despite only opening its doors on August 26th, the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore got off to a great start after its opening night attracted 15,000 people, with more than 50,000 people subsequently visiting the brand new casino over the three-day Labor Day weekend. The numbers were further assisted by the Navy-Ohio State football game which took place last weekend at the nearby M&T Bank Stadium.
In total, the Horseshoe complete with 2,500 slot machines and 147 table games still managed to generate $5.7 million in revenues over six days of operation, surpassing the $4.25 million in revenues produced by the Rocky Gap Casino Resort (577 slots, 17 table games) for the whole of the month. The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore also was not far behind the Casino at Ocean Downs which generated $5.93 million from its 800 slot machines. Overall, Rocky Gap’s revenue tally was 6% higher than the same month last year, while Ocean Downs was down by 0.65%.
Continuing to dominate Maryland’s casino market was the state’s largest gambling venue, Maryland Live, whose 4,222 slot machines and 189 table games generated $57.32 million in August, up 7.46% from August 2013. However, some analysts have warned Maryland Live may soon suffer due to the new Horseshoe casino opening just 12 miles away, and that it could eventually see a 16% decline in its slots revenues and 25% for its table games.
Finally, the Hollywood Casino Perryville with 1,158 slots and 22 table games reported a 4.2% drop in revenues to $7.3 million from a year earlier.
The Free State’s monthly casino revenues are forecast to rise further after the $925 million MGM Resorts, located 44 miles from Baltimore, opens its doors for business in 2016. Nevertheless, growth is expected to hit a wall eventually, and as David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, explains:
“You’ll hit a plateau because it is a finite market. The question is, when is that going to happen?”