The president of Maryland Live!, now the second-largest gaming property in the state because of the recent opening of MGM National Harbor, sought last week to dispel the impression that the new resort on the shores of the Potomac spells doom for his property.
Speaking to CDC Gaming Reports, Maryland Live! President Steve Norton said his property—owned by Baltimore-based Cordish Company and situated less than an hour’s drive from National Harbor adjacent to Arundel Mills Mall in the Baltimore suburb of Hanover—continued improvements to the casino for its entire five-year life span. He predicted the property will continue to register numbers near the $660 million in gross gaming revenue it has logged over the past 12 months.
Norton said he is confident Maryland Live! will defy projections of analysts, some of whom have predicted National Harbor will siphon as much as 40 percent of the property’s revenues. “Analysts said that our revenue would decrease as much as 20 percent when Caesars opened the Horseshoe in Baltimore in 2014,” he said. “In fact, our revenue has increased since it opened. “Everyone has their predictions, but we are confident that Live! Casino will continue to be a dominant force in the Mid-Atlantic region.”
Among the reasons for Norton’s confidence are those ongoing investments in the property, including a hotel to open late next year and numerous restaurant upgrades—not to mention its location adjacent to a major regional mall offering all the shopping any visitor could desire, and gambler-centric promotions that appeal to a loyal customer base the casino has cultivated since before it opened.
“We believe that competition is good for the market because it makes everyone better,” Norton said “We welcome competition and we’re ready for the challenge. This is our home—this is where the Cordish family, our owners, have lived for generations—and we will fight hard against the mammoth corporations who don’t know and love this market like we do.”
