While Maryland is getting all the headlines for their rapidly growing casino revenues, one state in the Northeast is also experiencing some rapid growth over the past year.
In case you’re wondering what state it is, give a pleasantly surprised round of applause to Maine. Yep, the state best known for wild blueberries and land-locked salmons is becoming a player in the casino industry.
According to figures released by the Maine Gambling Control Board, the state reported taking in $35 million in revenues ($35,407,412, to be exact) from slot machines and table games from its two casinos. The current figure is almost 30 percent better than its revenue numbers at the same time a year ago when the state reported earning casino revenues of a little over $25 million.
Pulling in the big bucks is the recently-opened Oxford Casino in Oxford, 37 miles west of the state’s capital in Augusta. From the beginning of January up to the last day of August, Oxford Casino, which only opened in June of last year, accounted for$18,577,555 in slot machine revenue to go with the $1,427,476 in earnings collected from table games.
Meanwhile, Maine’s other casino, the Hollywood Casino in Bangor, didn’t fare too badly either, accounting for $14,594,985 in revenue from slot machines to add to its $807,394 total from table games.
The relatively young age of Oxford Casino prevented the Maine Gambling Control Board from accurately predicting year-on-year revenue changes but in the two months where 2012 and 2013 figures can be tallied, the stark improvement from the state’s July and August 2012 numbers to this year’s figures casts a pretty telling sign that the two casinos are flourishing in the state.
Two months ago, the Gambling Control Board earned $2,918,800 in combined table game and slot machine revenue from Oxford Casino, 35 percent better than the numbers it posted in July 2012. Likewise, last month’s total -$2,923,164 – from Oxford Casino represented a 41-percent increase from its August 2012 numbers.
With the state now able to make year-on-year comparisons, it’s going to be interesting how Maine’s two casinos perform in the next few months relative to their numbers from the same time the previous year. But judging by the numbers from July and August this year, it certainly looks like Oxford Casino and the Hollywood Casino are both headed in the right direction.
