What comes after April showers? May flowers, of course.
That was true for Maryland casinos last month, as the state’s six venues combined for $173.2 million in revenue for the month. The numbers represented a 6.1% gain from April’s $163.2 million and a 2.2% increase from May 2023’s $169.4 million.
Monthly tax contributions totaled $74.4 million. Of that, $53.7 million went to the state’s Education Trust Fund.
MGM dominates table games, overall revenue
Efforts to legalize Maryland online casinos in the 2024 legislative session stalled out. As a result, the state’s six retail casinos remain the only gaming revenue generators from slot machines and table games.
Two of those six casinos, MGM National Harbor and Live! Casino and Hotel, are among the top five in casino revenue in the US outside of Nevada.
They accounted for almost 80% of the Old Line State’s casino revenue in May. MGM generated $72.3 million in revenue, and Live! generated $65 million.
MGM, which has held an edge over Live! in recent months, maintained that edge due to nearly $28 million in revenue from table games. That number represented 53.8% of Maryland table game revenue in May and was enough to propel it past Live!, which led the state with $47.7 million in slot revenue.
Horseshoe Casino Baltimore finished a distant third with $14.7 million in revenue, followed by Ocean Downs Casino ($8.4 million), Hollywood Casino ($7.8 million) and Rocky Gap Casino ($5 million).
Casino | Slot Revenue | Table Game Revenue | Total |
---|---|---|---|
MGM National Harbor | $44.3 Million | $28 Million | $72.3 Million |
Live! Casino | $47.7 Million | $17.3 Million | $65 Million |
Horseshoe Baltimore | $10.3 Million | $4.5 Million | $14.8 Million |
Hollywood Casino Perryville | $6.9 Million | $914,112 | $7.7 Million |
Ocean Downs Casino | $7.6 Million | $776,286 | $8.4 Million |
Rocky Gap Resort Casino | $4.5 Million | $493,738 | $5 Million |
Statewide | $121.2 Million | $52 Million | $173.2 Million |
Ocean Downs flips Hollywood
Ocean Downs’ May revenue was the first time since November 2023 that it reported more revenue than Hollywood. Historically, Hollywood has come close to or outperformed Ocean Downs during the colder months of the year.
With the warmer months now upon us, Ocean Downs has seen an uptick in business from Eastern Shore visitors and will enjoy that boost as long as the hot sun continues to shine. Looking at revenue in six months in 2023:
- June 2023: $8.7 million
- July 2023: 10.1 million
- August 2023: $10.1 million
- September 2023: $8.7 million
- October 2023: $8.2 million
- November 2023: $7 million
May ranks 9th all-time in Maryland monthly casino revenue
With May’s numbers in the books, Maryland casinos have reported 13 months with casino revenue exceeding $170 million. May ranks ninth all-time:
- October 2022: $212.9 million
- July 2022: $181.5 million
- July 2021: $180.1 million
- May 2022: $178.8 million
- March 2024: $178.1 million
- March 2023: $176.5 million
- April 2023: $174.7 million
- July 2023: $174.3 million
- May 2024: $173.2 million
- December 2021: $172.9 million
June is nowhere to be found on that list. In the last three years, it has brought revenue totals of $163.7 million (2023), $162.7 million (2022) and $161.5 million (2021).
Given that, casino revenue is expected to drop this month.
But July has been one of the highest revenue generators in recent years. Maryland casinos are hoping that trend continues.