Maryland Casinos Show Strong Performance With Revenues Up 11%

Maryland’s five casinos have shown a strong performance in the month of September, with revenue rising for the 10th consecutive month, according to data released by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. Cumulative revenue was $97 million, which was a growth of 11 percent over September 2015, which is the sharpest year-on- year growth recorded for Maryland’s casinos since April this year.

The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore’s increase in revenue has been a key driver for this upward trend. The casino posted revenue of $26.9 million in September 2016, which was a 21.6 percent increase for the same period in 2015. In a statement Erin Chamberlin, Horseshoe Baltimore's general manager said

We're very pleased with our September performance, having posted the largest percentage of year-over- year revenue growth of any casino in Maryland during the period

CBS Baltimore

Maryland Live Casino remained at the top with $53.9 million in revenue, up 8.8 percent from September 2015. Other casinos also saw encouraging results. Rocky Gap Casino Resort registered the second highest growth of around 15 percent year-over- year, which took its revenue to $4.4 million. The Casino at Ocean Downs went up by 3 percent and generated revenue of $5.9 million during the month.

The state’s first casino, the Hollywood Casino Perryville was the only one to see a decline. The casino brought in $5.9 million in revenue which was a drop of 4.6 percent when compared to September 2015. This is the fifth straight month of decline for the casino. Maryland is expected to launch its sixth casino before the end of the year. The MGM National Harbor casino is scheduled to open on Dec.8 and is expected to provide stiff competition to all casinos in the state, particularly to the Maryland Live. Located in a favourable location, with extensive amenities including a unique flower conservatory and a large gaming floor, the casino is expected to attract a wide range of customers from out of state and could end up hurting Maryland Live’s business.

Cordish Cos, the parent company of the Maryland Live casino is preparing for the stiff competition and has made a number of significant upgrades to its facilities which include the construction of a new hotel, in an attempt to ward off customer loss to the National Harbor casino.

The casinos in the state have been on a rising trajectory. Together they have seen a year-on-year increase every month commencing from November last year. In the first four month of this year alone, they have generated revenue of over $100 million, with revenue in May setting a record at $104.4 million.

Adrian Sterne

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