The April gaming revenue for Maryland’s six casinos was up by 31 percent over April 2016, with the industry logging 5.7 million for the month.
That’s good news for the Maryland industry, but it’s better news for MGM National Harbor. The casino, which opened on the banks of the Potomac December 8, generated $49.9 million in gaming revenue in April, according to data released by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission. That is 37 percent of the total gaming revenue logged by all six casinos.
April’s results also show that MGM’s success may be occurring at the expense of its closest competitors in the state. Maryland Live! in Hanover, by far the state’s revenue leader before the opening of MGM, generated $45.3 million in revenue for April, down 21.6 percent from a year ago. Horseshoe Baltimore generated $24.6 million, down 18.7 percent from April 2016.
Maryland lawmakers anticipated MGM’s dominance over its competitors in the Washington-Baltimore corridor, lowering the slot tax for both Maryland Live! (which now pay 36 percent of slot revenue, down from 43 percent) and Horseshoe (lowered from 45 percent to 39 percent) just before MGM National Harbor opened. The new property pays 41 percent of its slot revenue to the state.
Maryland’s three smaller casinos—Hollywood Casino Perryville, the Casino at Ocean Downs and Rocky Gap Casino Resorts—all saw modest gains year-over-year.
