Maryland Casinos Generate $66m In February

In February, Maryland’s four casinos generated $66 million in revenues, an improvement on the $47.8 million taken in February 2013. Nevertheless, the figure was still less than January’s total and was also well below the nearly $70 million recorded for many of the months last year. Helping to explain the slow start to 2014 is the harsh winter weather which has made traveling to the state’s casinos more arduous.
Maryland Live Casino, the Free State’s biggest casino with 4,322 slots and 177 table games, reported an impressive 36.5% rise in revenues to $52.3 million, compared to $38.3 million for the same month last year. From that tally, slot machines raked in $34 million, lower than the $38 million it generated in February last year, while table games also declined by 12% to only $18.3 million. Irrespective, the Arundel Mills based casino still continues to be the backbone of Maryland’s casino industry and in February accounted for 79% of the state’s gambling revenue.
As for the rest of Maryland’s casinos, Hollywood Casino Perryville  brought in 18.4% more revenue at $7.1 million compared to last year, Casino at Ocean Downs was up by 1.3% to $3.5 million in February, while the Rocky Gap Casino Resort, which has been open for less than a year, generated a total of $3.1 million for the month.
Last year, Maryland’s casinos took around $750 million in gambling revenues, with Maryland Live accounting for $586 million of that figure. The state subsequently collected $415 million in total state gambling taxes. Commenting on last year’s results, Maryland Live’s president Rob Norton, said:
“We’re very pleased with our performance. The addition of live action tables and poker has been very exciting for the property from an experience and revenue standpoint, while slots showed steady growth through the year, even with the addition of tables.”
However, the state’s flagship casino might find its profit margins squeezed in the coming months as Maryland’s fifth casino, the Horseshoe Casino, opens in August, with yet another casino, MGM National Harbor, slated to open in Prince George’s County, next year.