Maryland casino revenue jumps 40 percent

WASHINGTON — MGM National Harbor’s boost to Maryland’s casino revenues may be even bigger than anticipated, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all revenue generated by the state’s six casinos in October.

All counted, the six Maryland casinos generated $133.2 million in revenue during October, up 39.5 percent compared to October 2016.

MGM National Harbor, which opened last December, accounted for $52 million of that, from both slot and table games.

Live! Casino generated $45.8 million, down nearly 14 percent from a year ago.

Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino generated $19.6 million in revenue, down 26.5 percent from October 2016.

Results were mixed for the state’s smaller casinos. Revenue was up 7 percent at Casino at Ocean Downs, down less than 1 percent at Hollywood Casino Perryville, and down 1.6 percent at Rocky Gap Casino Resort.

Live! Casino, previously the state’s largest gaming revenue generator, is in the middle of a $200-million expansion that may counter the business lost to MGM National Harbor.

Owner The Cordish Companies is adding a 17-story hotel, a 1,500-seat convert venue, more restaurants and more parking.

Maryland’s share of the revenue generated by the casinos goes to the Maryland Education Trust Fund, the state’s horse racing industry and the Maryland General Fund.

Contributions to the state from all six Maryland casinos and fiscal year-do-date totals can be found in an October news release from the Maryland Lottery.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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