Maryland’s six casinos failed to maintain their record-smashing pace in the month of November, as one of the state’s former revenue leaders suffered a double-digit decline.
Figures released Thursday by the Maryland Lottery & Gaming Agency show the state’s six gaming venues generated combined gaming revenue of just over $140m in November, a 7.3% rise over the same month last year but well behind October 2018’s all-time high of nearly $158m.
November’s gains were almost entirely due to the casinos’ slot machines, which reported revenue up $8.7m to $88.8m. The casinos’ gaming tables were essentially in a holding pattern in November, up only $800k to $51.2m.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, MGM Resorts’ National Harbor casino led the way with revenue of nearly $57.3m, up 13.2% year-on-year but well back of October’s record $73.4m. National Harbor celebrates its second birthday this month and has led the monthly revenue charts ever since its launch, with the lone exception of February 2017, during which former market-leader Live! Casino & Hotel briefly dethroned the new king.
Live! had a solid November, rising 12% to just under $48.7m, while Caesars Entertainment’s Horseshoe Casino Baltimore was in the toilet, falling 14.2% to just under $19.5m. The Shoe’s decline was primarily the result of its tables growing cold, with revenue falling $2.7m from November 2017 to just $7.8m last month.
Results were mixed for the state’s three smaller properties, as Hollywood Casino Perryville fell 5.9% to $5.4m, Ocean Downs shot up more than one-third to $5.2m and Rocky Gap slipped 2.7% to $4m.
Ocean Downs’ double-digit gains were primarily due to its new gaming tables, which made their first appearance in December 2017. The property’s table game revenue hit nearly $551k in November, although its slots revenue was also up nearly $800k.
