All Maryland casinos reported increases in revenues in June.
Figures from Maryland Lottery and Gaming showed revenues for the state’s six casinos totaled nearly $149 million, an increase of 14.1 percent compared to the June 2017 total of $130,480,062.
Comparable June figures from Delaware were not immediately available. However, apples-to-apples May comparisons that do not include horse racing or sports gaming proceeds show revenues in the First State were flat from a year ago. That was actually good news when compared to big revenue in past years, due to competition from other states.
Delaware may also face more intense competition from Atlantic City, which saw the opening of the Hard Rock resort. The Hard Rock plans to use a live entertainment focus to lure patrons. In the past, Delaware was able to grab a small chunk of Atlantic City’s bus business, which has largely gone away.
Maryland has six privately owned casinos: MGM National Harbor in Prince George’s County; Live! Casino & Hotel in Anne Arundel County; Horseshoe Casino Baltimore in Baltimore City; Hollywood Casino Perryville in Cecil County; Ocean Downs Casino in Worcester County; and Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Allegany County.
The Las Vegas-style MGM National Harbor across the river from Washington, D.C. posed $59,316,909 from both slot machines and table games in June, up 18 percent from a year. Delaware once saw business from the D.C. area, which is unlikely to ever see a casino in the district.
Two casinos closer to Delaware also came out ahead, according to the Maryland report
Hollywood Casino near Perryville in Cecil County recorded $6.6 million from both slot machines and table games in June, up 4.5 percent.
Ocean Downs Casino’s revenues totaled $7,203,202 from slot machines and table games in June, up nearly 30 percent from a year ago. The casino benefits from vacationers and perhaps some Sussex County residents. Delaware’s southernmost county has no casinos.
Delaware legislators passed a law easing the revenue sharing burden on the state’s casinos, which have been hammered by competition from Maryland and Pennsylvania.
In return, the state’s casinos, which also have horse tracks, must invest in marketing and other improvements. Last week, Dover Downs reported it will reopen a restaurant that had been closed by a previous operator, thanks to the passage of the legislation. The reopening will create 50 jobs.
