Maryland’s six casinos generated $141 million in December, making it the second-best month for revenue since the first casino in the state opened in 2010.
The revenue figure also effectively marked the first full year of operation for the state’s revenue leader, the MGM National Harbor casino across the Potomac from Washington, D.C., which opened December 8, 2016. For December, MGM logged $56.5 million in slot sand table game revenue, according to figures released last week by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
That led the industry, as has been the case for MGM in its first year. Maryland Live, the former industry leader that is working to match MGM with a new $200 million, 310-room hotel to be opened this year, reported $47.2 million in revenue for December, down 1.7 percent from December 2016.
Horseshoe Baltimore, MGM’s other regional competitor saw December revenue of $23.9 million, down 19.5 percent year-on-year. Of the three smaller casinos, only Rocky Gap Casino in Western Maryland saw a revenue rise for the month, reporting $3.8 million for a 6.8 percent rise over 2016. Ocean Downs on the Eastern Shore was down 9 percent for December with $3.7 million, and Hollywood Casino Perryville logged $5.7 million for a dip of 5.5 percent compare to December 2016.
Meanwhile, Maryland’s horse-racing industry is on the rise. According to an announcement by the Maryland Jockey Club, total handle on races at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course exceeded $600 million last year, the first time the milestone has been reached since 2008.
Total handle was $627.3 million compared to $560.1 million in 2016, while average handle was $3.3 million, up from $3.091 million in 2016. There was also a significant increase from in-state handle, from $408.6 million to $442.1 million.
“We’re happy to continue seeing increases in handle while making our product more available and accessible to the public through our growing OTB Network,” said Sal Sinatra, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club. “Our major race days continue to grow, and we continue to emphasize the incredible entertainment opportunities available at our facilities. We’ve had wonderful support throughout the year from horsemen across North America, and we continue seeing new stables participating in our races at Pimlico and over our world-class turf course at Laurel.”
