Meanwhile, statewide revenues exceed B
Hollywood Casino in Perryville, Maryland?the Free State’s first casino?has been overshadowed in the past four years by newer, bigger gaming halls in more populous areas.
Those casinos?Maryland Live! in Hanover and Horseshoe Baltimore?helped the industry pump $1.38 billion into the Maryland economy last year. But they have taken a big bite out of Hollywood’s revenues.
According to the Washington Post, annual revenues at the casino are in the $86 million range, less than half of what state officials predicted in 2010 when the Art Deco-themed casino opened its doors. And since August, when the $442 million Horseshoe opened near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Hollywood’s revenues have fallen by about 10 percent compared to 2013.
Though the returns did not measure up to expectation, the Perryville casino is profitable, the Post reports. And casino officials have developed a plan to keep it in the black. Rather than trying to outglitz its glitzy neighbors, says General Manager Matthew Heiskell, the Hollywood is aiming to be a great locals casino.
“It is an entirely different style of business. It is almost a neighborhood bar of a casino,” Heiskell said. “Everybody knows everybody.”
Hollywood draws most of its patrons from the immediate vicinity. So instead of offering celebrity chef restaurants or superstar bands, the gaming hall features neighborhood-style bars and local musicians.
Since the Horseshoe opened last summer, revenue at Perryville has dropped by 10 to 11 percent for the past two months, a year-to-year comparison of state data shows. But that’s less than expected. A study commissioned by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency had projected that, starting next year, Perryville would likely lose 13 percent of its slots revenue and 18 percent of its table games revenue. Revenue from table games, in particular, has held steady.
Anthony Lucas, an expert in casino management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that appealing to locals is probably the biggest competitive advantage a smaller casino such as Perryville has.
“You’ve got to be sure you know who you are,” Lucas said.
Meanwhile, a new study from the American Gaming Association says Maryland casinos generated $837.7 million in revenues from gaming, entertainment, and other spending in 2013; contributed $543 million in taxes to local, state and federal governments; paid $359 million in wages’ and directly employed almost 4,000 people. The study, conducted by Oxford Economics, did not include the employment impact of the Horseshoe Casino, which added another 1,700 jobs in August, or the MGM National Harbor, which will add another 3,800 jobs when it opens in 2016.
