Maryland Casino Revenue Up 14% to $149M in June

Maryland Casino Revenue Up 14% to $149M in June

Maryland’s casino industry continues to show significant strength, with the market rising by 14.1% to $148.9 million in June compared to the $130.5 million collected a year earlier. From that tally, slot machine revenue noted an impressive 16% year-on-year increase to $93.7 million, while table games also improved by 11% to $55.2 million.

The latest result follows a record-breaking May in which revenues increased by 14.7% to $156.6 million, according to the latest results released by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission.

MGM National Harbor

All of the state’s six casinos posted year-on-year growth last month. Leading the way was the MGM National Harbor in Prince George’s County, which generated $59.3 million in earnings, or 18.3% more versus June 2017. As a result, MGM National Harbor’s 2,961 slot machines and 180 table games accounted for almost 40% of all casino revenues collected in the Free State in June.

The casino resort has never relinquished its position as the state’s biggest casino earner since opening back in December 2016, and usurping Live! Casino & Hotel of its former privileged role. The latter has since tried to rebalance the situation by moving ahead with its $200 million expansion plan, which was subsequently completed last month, complete with a 310 bedroom hotel, two new restaurants, a luxury Spa, a 4,000-seat conference center, and 2,000 new parking spaces.

MGM Expansion Plan

Any gains made by Live! Casino & Hotel may be short lived, though, as MGM National Harbor has announced a $48 million expansion of its own, most of which is concentrated on its total gaming space. MGM is looking to increase the area from 125,000 square feet to 163,000 square feet, thus allowing it to add a further 7 table games and another 285 slot machines to its gambling mix. Off-track horse betting is also on the cards, and as Melonie Johnson, CEO of MGM National Harbor, explained recently:

“We had a rough second floor that was not being utilized, and the intent was that if we saw the demand from our customers, we would have the ability to expand to that second floor.”

According to Johnson, demand recorded has gone “well beyond our expectations,” particularly as far as table games are concerned.

Other Venues Post Gains

In June, Live! Casino & Hotel (3,997 slots, 198 table games) saw its business increase by 15.1% to $48.1 million, helped no doubt, by the completion of its expansion development. Also reporting an impressive double-digit year-on-year growth was the Ocean Downs Casino, whose 888 slot machines and 10 table games generated 29.8% more revenue at $7.2 million in June.

Positive but smaller gains were also noted all across the state. The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore’s 2,200 slot machines and 167 table games posted a 3.3% improvement to $22.8 million; the Hollywood Casino Perryville (822 slots, 22 tables) saw its revenue higher by 4.5% to $6.6 million; while the Rocky Gap Casino Resort collected $4.7 million from its 665 slot machines and 17 table games, or 5.2% more compared to the June 2017.

Sports Betting Possibilities

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the federal sports betting ban in May, New Jersey and Delaware have joined Nevada in opening or in the case of Delaware extending their sports betting businesses. Waiting in the wind and expected to follow suit with laws already on the books are Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.

Maryland, on the other hand, joins a dozen states with dormant sports betting bills that are not currently under consideration. There is no great expectation that the situation will change anytime soon, either, and while David Cordish, whose firms owns Live! Casino & Hotel, said that he would be pleased to add sports betting to his casino’s gambling products, he also added that “it has to be done right, and I think that’s going to take time.”

One of the main points of contention that will have to be ironed out first concerns a dispute between Maryland’s casinos and its racetracks over who will ultimately be permitted to offer sports wagering.