As Atlantic City continues on its downward spiral, Maryland’s casino revenue iron pumping is getting heavier and heavier.
For the month of August, the state’s four casinos posted a record-breaking gross gambling revenue of $71 million, surpassing the $69.3 million the state raked in just a month earlier.
According to numbers released by the State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, a big chunk of Maryland’s August haul predictably came from its largest casino, Maryland Live!, which accounted for more than three-fourths of the state’s total gross gambling revenue at a shade past $53 million, the fourth straight month that the casino earned in excess of $50 million and 64 percent better than its numbers in the same time a year ago.
The casino’s dizzying rise to prominence in the Northeast was reflected in its slot machine revenue, which hit $35.5 million in August, and and live-action table games, accounting for another $17.4 million to the total gross revenue of the casino. The casino’s newly-opened poker room is also expected to drive in strong revenue after generating more than $350,000 in just three-and-a-half days of operation after opening last August 28. Gross revenue estimates from the poker room is expected to be around $1 million per month, adding yet another strong source of revenue for the casino that’s leading Maryland’s charge towards becoming one of the premier gambling states in the US.
Maryland’s three other casinos also posted healthy returns from August. Hollywood Casino Perryville generated $7.7 million for the month, 18 percent better than its year-on-year numbers. Likewise, the Casino at Ocean Downs generated $6 million in gross revenue, five percent better than last year’s numbers and the three-month old Rocky Gap Casino Resort in Western Maryland reported earning $4 million in August from its 558 slot machines and 10 table games.
For the year, Maryland has posted $417.8 million in revenue with a chance of that number coming close to $700 million before the year ends.
