Maryland casinos posted their fourth-best month in state history — for the second straight month. The state’s casinos reported $170.7 million in gaming revenue during April 2022, beating March’s $170.6 million figure by just $179,121.
These numbers represent a 5.3% increase over April 2021, when $162.1 million was reported in total casino revenue. Additionally, casino gaming revenue now totals $1.661 billion for Fiscal Year 2022. That’s up more than 17% over the FY 2021 year-to-date of $1.411 billion.
MGM National Harbor, Live! dominate April
MGM National Harbor once again led in market share, generating $70.5 million in total revenue. The total was an increase of $8.1 million (13.1%) from April 2021.
Live! Casino & Hotel ($58.8 million) was next, up just $590,000 (1%) from April 2021, with the two casinos combining to account for more than three-quarters of all Maryland state casino revenue in April.
For the second straight month, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and Hollywood Casino Perryville reported decreasing revenue from the previous year’s same month. Horseshoe saw a 3.8% decrease from April 2021, compounding a 4.6% decrease in March from the previous year. Hollywood saw a 0.7% dip, less than March’s 2.6% drop from 2021.
On the tail end, both Ocean Downs Casino (7.1%) and Rocky Gap Casino (2.1%) were more profitable than in April 2021 as well.
| Casino | Slot Win | Table Games Win | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGM National Harbor | $39.5 million | $31 million | $70.5 million |
| Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland | $43.5 million | $15.3 million | $58.8 million |
| Horseshoe Casino Baltimore | $11.6 million | $7.3 million | $18.9 million |
| Hollywood Casino Perryville | $7.1 million | $1.2 million | $8.4 million |
| Ocean Downs Casino | $7.3 million | $860,000 | $8.2 million |
| Rocky Gap Casino Resort | $5.1 million | $599,000 | $5.7 million |
| Total | $114.3 million | $56.4 million | $170.7 million |
Limited capacity at casinos in rear-view mirror
In April 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic forced MGM National Harbor and Horseshoe Baltimore to limit capacity to 50%. And while the other four casinos did not have capacity limitations, social distancing measures resulted in several table games and slot machines being unavailable, which certainly cut into earnings potential.
Interestingly, MGM National Harbor took the most advantage of being fully back in business, with its 13.1% increased earnings well ahead of all others. However, Horseshoe Baltimore failed to top its 2021 numbers despite offering 100% capacity, reporting nearly 4% less revenue than the year before.
Challenging the monthly revenue record
Maryland’s all-time monthly casino revenue record was set in July 2021 at $180.1 million.
More recently, MD casinos reported $172.9 million in December 2021 before falling to just $153.8 million in January 2022. That number rose back up to $163 million in February before topping $170 million twice more in March and April.
Should the upward trend continue, Maryland will look to surpass last December’s number and continue climbing toward the record. Of course, all records are made to be broken, especially so in a growing industry. Thus, the question really becomes a matter of when the record will be broken, not if.
