Whether it was the weather, fake casino chips or just the sheer lack of pages on the calendar, none of it mattered as Maryland Live continued on its impressive run, steamrolling to its 10th consecutive month of over $50 million in revenues.
For the month of February, Maryland’s largest and highest earning casino (by a wide margin, in fact) hauled in $52.3 million in gross gambling revenue, as per figures released by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. As far as pretax revenues are concerned, February continued a streak that beat last May, the first full month of operations for the casino’s live tables division.
More importantly, the casino’s revenue numbers accounted for a little over 79.2 percent of what the state’s four casinos earned in February. Maryland Live’s 4,322 slot machines accounted for $34 million, higher than its numbers in January, but surprisingly, lower than its $38-million haul in the same month last year when the casino still didn’t have its live table game offerings. Maybe having all that variety in your joint means sacrificing slots for table games.
Speaking of the casino’s blackjack, roulette, and other table games, that department saw a 12 percent drop from January to $18.3 million.
Maryland’s complete dominance in the state’s casino market is expected to continue in the next few months, or at least until the state’s fifth casino, the Horseshoe Casino, opens in downtown Baltimore this coming August. From there, the state has more than a year to get settled on these five establishments before the sixth casino, MGM National Harbor, opens its own doors in Prince George’s County.
For now, though, it’s still Maryland Live’s show.
