Maryland rebounds; Penn wows Wall Street; Trump to play Lucky Dragon

In a near-miraculous development, Maryland gambling revenues were only 6% off the pace last month. Between cabin fever and the belated delivery of those $1,200 stimulus checks, we’re not entirely surprised that Free State punters had both the desire and the money to have a flutter. An extra weekend day didn’t hurt either. MGM National Harbor grossed $52 million (-14%) with slots down 15% and tables off 12%. Since table games are taxed at a far lower (and fairer) rate, MGM execs aren’t exactly crying in their beer. Even though it finished second, Maryland Live was the real winner, up 4.5% to $51.5 million. Other beneficiaries of the July breakout were Hollywood Perryville (+7.5%, $7 million) and Rocky Gap Resort (+6%, $5.5 million). Hard-luck Horseshoe Baltimore plunged 18.5% to $16 million—even desperate gamblers have standards. That leaves Ocean Downs, down 5% to $8 million.

Over in West Virginia, July numbers were unavailable for breakout but the state’s casino business is down 24% over the past four months, evenly divided between tables and slots. Charles Town Races had a slightly harder time of it, seeing a 25% erosion at slots and 29% at tables.