New competition waiting in the wings
Casinos in Maryland saw almost double-digit revenue growth in May, reports the Baltimore Business Journal. Maryland Live, the Cordish Companies’ casino in Hanover, was the undisputed leader, generating $59.5 million, up 8.1 percent from $4.5 million a year before.
As the first gaming hall in the populous Baltimore-Washington corridor, Maryland Live has consistently beaten out its competition in the state. In 2013, it accounted for 78 percent of the state’s $746.9 million in gaming revenue.
Together, the state’s four casinos brought in $75.8 million for May, for an increase of $6.6 million from $69.2 million in May 2013, the Journal reported. But Hollywood Casino Perryville saw a revenue drop of 8.7 percent to $7.8 million during the month. The Casino at Ocean Downs posted revenues of $4.7 million, down 1.2 percent from May 2013. And Rocky Gap Casino, which opened in late May 2013, generated $3.8 million.
More competition is just around the corner. The state’s fifth casino, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, is scheduled to open in late August or early September, and the MGM National Harbor is expected to open in 2016.
Although the state’s casinos have brought in a collective $975 million overall, a report in the Baltimore Sun questioned whether that wealth is being channeled in the right direction. Education advocates, for example, say money from the casinos has “mainly supplanted other state funding, and has not been the windfall many felt was promised.” Education is the feel-good beneficiary often trotted out when casinos are being considered in the state.
“Obviously, the revenue coming in is good for the state,” said Curt Anderson, a Baltimore City Democrat who opposed legalizing casinos. “Still, there were a lot of promises made as to where the money was going to go. I don’t think it’s fulfilled the promises that were made.”
But Senator Richard Madaleno, a Montgomery County Democrat, said casino funds have prevented “the sort of gut-wrenching reductions in K-to-12 spending that you’ve seen in so many parts of the country.” Casinos “have certainly provided the stability for the state to weather the storm and to continue to keep its promises for education and teacher pensions,” he said.
To fend off new competition, David Cordish, chairman and CEO of the Baltimore-based Cordish Companies, recently announced that Maryland Live would add a $200 million hotel and spa. The hotel could open by 2016, Cordish said, the same year the National Harbor resort complex is set to open on the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, just 33 miles away.
“It’s as much a reward for our base customers,” Cordish said. “A lot of these gamblers go when you’re sound asleep. It’s 2, 3, 4 in the morning. You’re going to comp them a room. … We’ll be able to add another weapon to our arsenal.”
