Maryland Casinos Generate $140M Revenue Even at 50% Capacity

Maryland’s casinos were not quite back to 2019 levels in their first month since reopening, but they were not far off last year’s revenues — and state officials have a right to be pleased with last month’s numbers considering the casinos were running at half capacity.

The six commercial casinos in Maryland combined to generate $139,920,018 in July, down 6.3% from the July 2019 total of $149,328,379. The casinos contributed a total of $57,960,649 to the state in July, down 6.1% from the same time last year.

All of Maryland’s casinos closed on March 16, as did casinos around the country when the coronavirus outbreak’s severity in the United States became apparent. They reopened in mid to late June so July, the first month of the new fiscal year, was their first full month back in operation. Statewide measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19, including social distancing, meant that the casinos have to run at 50% capacity.

The state’s casinos started 2020 well, bringing in $145.5 million in January and $151.2 million in February.

Maryland Casinos Financial Breakdown

Here is a breakdown by individual casinos, according to numbers from a Maryland Lottery and Gaming news release:

• MGM National Harbor (Oxon Hill): $52,329,346 revenue in July 2020, down 13.9% from July 2019
• Live! Casino & Hotel (Hanover): $51,507,354 in July 2020, up 4.5% from July 2019
• Horseshoe Casino (Baltimore): $15,805,418, down 18.5%
• Hollywood Casino (Perryville): $7,009,254, up 7.4%
• Ocean Downs Casino (Berlin): $7,760,214, down 5.2%
• Rocky Gap Casino (Cumberland): $5,508,432, up 6.1%

The six casinos offer both slots and table games. The revenue breakdown for July was $91,668,112 in gross terminal revenue at Video Lottery Terminals and $48,251,906 in table game revenue, according to the state’s monthly report posted on its website.

That was much-needed revenue for the state — revenue that went missing for all of April and May with all of the facilities closed.

“The casinos worked very hard to reconfigure their operations for this ‘new normal,’ and while this is still uncharted territory in many ways, these are strong results, given the circumstances,” state Lottery and Gaming Director Gordon Medenica said in the news release. “With limited entertainment options, people have been eager to get out and do something fun.”

In the 2018-19 fiscal year, Maryland casinos reset their record by combining to contribute $1.311 billion to the state.

According to the American Gaming Association, as of 2019 Maryland’s casinos have an annual economic impact of $3 billion and employ more than 15,000 people. Once operations fully open back up again, there should be even more gaming revenue because the state legalized sports betting in May, so 2021 should be a banner year for gaming in Maryland.