Maryland Casinos Up 6% to $136.6M in February

In February, Maryland’s six casinos generated $136.6 million in revenue, representing a healthy increase from the $127.8 million collected in January, and a 6% rise compared to February of 2017. Overall, half of the state’s casinos recorded growth during the month, while the other half saw their revenues slip versus February of the previous year.
Leading the market in terms of growth last month was the MGM National Harbor, which first opened its doors for business in December 2016, and currently features 2,706 slot machines and 173 table games. In February, the venue subsequently collected $53.1 million, marking an impressive 16% improvement year-on-year.
Live! Casino was next with its 3,835 slot machines and 186 table games producing $47 million in revenue, or 1.5% more from a year ago; while Ocean Downs Casino reported earnings of $4.9 million from its 891 slot machines and 10 table games, up by 22.4% from February 2017.
On the flip side, Hollywood Casino saw its revenue decline from 5.3% to $5.9 million (822 slots, 21 table games); followed by the Rocky Gap Casino Resort down by 4% to $4.2 million (665 slots, 17 table games); and finally the Horseshoe, whose revenue slipped by 2.7% to $21.4 million ( 2,202 slots, 175 table games).
Included in the figures are the state’s poker rooms, which collected $3.59 million last month, lower by 2.4% from the $3.68 million taken in February 2017. Once more, MGM National Harbor led the way with $1.7 million in revenue, followed by Live! Casino ($1.29m), Horseshoe Casino Baltimore ($499,000), and Hollywood Casino Perryville ($102,000), according to the latest figures released by the Maryland Lottery.
Maryland’s overall casino market has now returned two months of consecutive growth in 2018, with January’s result up by a moderate 1.2% to $127.8 million versus the $126.2 million generated in the same month a year ago. Furthermore, the Free State certainly appears to be out performing other important US casino markets of late.
In January, for instance, Nevada saw its revenue dip by 2% to $1 billion; and New Jersey noted a 10% drop to $184.3 million, although much of the damage was caused by a severe blizzard which hit the region at the beginning of January. Finally, Pennsylvania’s 12 casinos posted a 2% fall in GGR to $248.8 million, with the downward trend expected to continue into February.