Maryland Casino Revenue Soars 38% in September

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Friday, October 6th, 2017 | Written by Lucy Brown

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency has released its latest results for September, with the state’s six casinos generating a combined $134.5 million for the month, up by a massive 38.6% compared to September of last year. Back then, the state’s newest casino, MGM National Harbor, had not yet opened its doors for business, and if the $1.4 billion resort is excluded from the numbers, Maryland would actually have noted a 12.3%, or $11.9 million decline in its year-on-year revenues.

MGM National Harbor

In December, MGM National Harbor opened for business in Prince George’s County, and soon after it overtook Maryland Live! as the state’s most popular gambling venue. This September was no exception, either, with the operation’s 3,087 slot machines and 168 table games generating revenue of $49.3 million. Nevertheless, that figure represents its lowest tally in six months, as well as a significant drop compared to the $52.9 million that was collected in August. Helping to explain most of the decrease is MGM’s table games taking $4 million less revenue than the previous month’s total.

Nearby Venues

While the addition of MGM National Harbor has helped boost the state’s casino market, there are two casinos which have borne the brunt of the resort’s opening, namely Maryland Live! and the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Both these venues are located within the same catchment area as MGM, and have been experiencing continuing monthly year-over-year declines as a result. September brought no relief to their business, either, and instead merely extended their losing streak to a fourth consecutive month.

Maryland Live!

Located just 30 miles away, Maryland Live! generated $46.9 million from its 3,891 slot machines and 190 table games, representing a 12.9% decrease versus September of 2016. However, there should be better news on the horizon when October’s results are released as the casino hosted the WPT Maryland Live! from September 22nd to October 4th, with its 20 event schedule having featured more than $2.8 million in guaranteed prizes.

The WPT Maryland Live $3,500 Main Event proved a popular draw, too, with 561 players entering the tournament, although their buy-ins still fell $150,000 short of its guaranteed prize pool of $2 million. In the end, the tournament was won by Artur Papazyan for $389,405, with the player also having captured another WPT title just five weeks earlier at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. On that occasion, Papazyan defeated 14-times WSOP bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth to lift the trophy, and after his latest victory at Maryland Live!, Papazyan helped to heap more positive PR on the venue by his inspirational dream come true story. As the player subsequently stated after his win:

“I feel like this is not even real. Who would have thought I play my first WPT and I win against Phil Hellmuth? Then I play my second WPT, I come to Maryland across the country, and I win again? I would never have thought in my wildest dreams that this would ever happen. I’m so happy it did.”

Horseshoe Casino

The year-over-year revenue decline was even more pronounced for the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, situated 46 miles from MGM National Harbor, whose 2,202 slot machines and 178 table games collected 22.1% less revenue at around $21 million. In fact, the Keystone State’s gross gaming revenues, minus those of MGM, would have amounted to $84.6 million in September, down from the $97.1 million posted in August 2016, with these two casinos accounting for much of the loss.

Other Casinos Post Gains

Located further afield are the state’s three other casinos, all of which reported revenue increases last month compared to September 2016. Leading the way was the Casino at Ocean Downs, which saw the revenues produced from its 800 slot machines spike 12.1% to $6.5 million, followed by the Rocky Gap Casino Resort up 6.1% to $4.7 million from its 665 slot machines and 17 table games. Finally, the Hollywood Casino Perryville saw its business stay fairly flat at +0.1%, with its 822 slot machines and 21 table games generating revenue of $5.9 million.

Fiscal 2017

For the 12 month period running from July 2016 to June 2017, Maryland‘s casino market posted a new all-time revenue high of $1.42 billion, with its lottery industry also hitting a record high of $1.93 billion in fiscal year 2017. As Gordon Medenica, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Director, stated concerning the results:

“We anticipated that casino revenues would reach new heights, and the fact that the Lottery set records in the same year is fantastic. We’re confident that Lottery sales will remain robust and that casino revenues will continue to grow.”