Throughout the United States, casinos are reporting revenue decreases in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and regulations that are forcing them to operate at reduced capacity.
Maryland casinos don’t have that problem as three properties in the state actually reported year-over-year increases in July revenue. Live! Casino & Hotel, Hollywood Casino and Rocky Gap Casino all reported small jumps in revenue, according to data released by the state’s gaming regulators.
It was the first full month of operations for the state’s six casinos since Gov. Larry Hogan gave the green light for properties to reopen June 19. Hogan forced the brick-and-mortar gaming industry to close in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March.
Live! Casino & Hotel generated $51.5 million in revenue, which was up 4.5 percent from July 2019. It was also within spitting distance of the revenue stemming from gaming at MGM National Harbor, which is the state’s highest-grossing casino. The MGM property won $52.3 million from gamblers in July, good for a 13.9 percent decrease.
Hollywood Casino took in $7 million and Rocky Gap Casino added another $5.5 million to the state’s overall gross gaming revenue. With Horseshoe Baltimore’s $15.8 million in revenue and Ocean Downs Casino’s $7.76 million, Maryland’s gross gaming revenue for July 2020 added up to $139.9 million.
The overall numbers reflect a 6.3 percent dip year-over-year, but those are miniscule dips compared to other parts of the country.
Nevada casinos reopened June 4 and with a nearly full month of operations, Silver State casinos suffered a 45.5 percent decline in revenue. It led Station Casinos CEO to question whether he should even bother reopening four of the company’s Las Vegas properties.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming director Gordon Medenica told local media that casinos reaped the benefit of residents having reduced choices of leisure activities during the pandemic.
“With limited entertainment options, people have been anxious to get out and do something fun,” said Medenica. “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.”
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