Even with capacity restrictions still in place at MGM National Harbor and Horseshoe Baltimore, the Free State enjoyed an epic March with casinos posting an all-time-record $169 million. On March 12, MGM and Horseshoe were bumped up to 50% capacity (from 25%) and restrictions at the state’s four smaller casinos were lifted. (Last year, casinos were closed March 16-June 19.) As usual, MGM was out front with $66.5 million, 6% better than March 2019. It and Maryland Live dominated the market, with 39% and 36%, respectively. Maryland Live gained 9% to $61 million but while Horseshoe Baltimore grew sequentially (up $5.5 million from February), it was still the state’s lone disappointment, down 23% to $20 million. Ocean Downs was up 13% to $7.5 million, Hollywood Perryville vaulted 21% to $9 million and Rocky Gap Resort was up 8.5% to $5.5 million. The leading edge of a trend? We certainly think so. As America goes, so goes Maryland—only more so.
West Virginia, however, remained mire in a funk compared with March 2019 (revenue comparisons with March 2020 are incomplete, due a March 27 closure). Slots were down 13% and tables 20%, for a 14% overall decline in gross gaming revenue. Hollywood Charles Town had a bad month at the slots (-19%) but cleaned up at the tables, leaping 46% upward. With an extra weekend day, this April should be better … for Maryland, at least.
Jottings: The Rio opens its rooms on a full-time basis April 19. For an overview of new ownership’s plans for the much-abused resort, see Vital Vegas. Author Scott Roeben was underwhelmed but we beg to differ … Forget about casinos in Georgia anytime soon. Even the soft underbelly of gaming expansion, sports betting, was impenetrable to the Lege, in yet another in a litany of failures … By contrast, both sports betting and i-gaming passed out of the Connecticut House and seem to have the momentum for enactment … After a false start several years ago, Sri Lanka is making another run at destination gambling. The idea is to create a special, China-run enclave in Colombo. The area will, however, be subject to Ceylonese regulation … Congratulations to Aristocrat Technologies, which won nine trophies at the EKG Slot Awards. A distant second was Everi Holdings (née Shufflemaster) with four nods … Las Vegas producers Grace Lusk and Troy Heard are turning Covid-19 health guidelines to their advantage with new show Hot Trash. A tribute to Times Square peepshows, it will feature a masked audience and a plexiglass wall separating performers from spectators. Voyeuristic much? (That’s sort of the idea.)