Casino Revenue Up 24% Over Last August

BERLIN — The August revenue numbers for the Casino at Ocean Downs and Maryland’s two other operating casinos were released this week and while the news was mixed for the most part, the Berlin facility enjoyed another strong month after setting a record in July.

As the campaigning for the referendum on expanded gambling in Maryland continues to heat up with the battle already raging in advance of the November election, at least two of Maryland’s three operating casinos including the Casino at Ocean Downs continued to put up strong numbers during the month of August. The 800 machines at the Casino at Ocean Downs generated $5.67 million in August, just short of the $5.75 million posted in July, which was the record for the 16-month history of the Berlin gaming facility.

The $5.67 million generated in August represented an increase of $1.1 million over August 2011, or roughly 24 percent. It’s important to note the Berlin casino, like most businesses in the resort area, lost an entire weekend in August 2011 due to Hurricane Irene. In addition, there were five weekends in August this year, which also contributed to the spike in revenue over the prior year.

A look at the average daily gross per machine also reflects healthy growth on the bottom line. For example, the Casino at Ocean Downs generated $228.66 per machine per day in August 2012, compared to $196.66 per day in 2011. It’s important to note the Casino at Ocean Downs expanded its number of VLTs from 750 to 800 last summer, which makes the increase more pronounced.

While the news was good for the most part for the Casino at Ocean Downs in August, the same cannot be said for Maryland’s first slots venue, the Hollywood Casino in Perryville in Cecil County.

The Hollywood Casino Perryville generated $6.5 million in August and its gross gaming revenue per day came in at $140.14 for its 1,500 VLTs. The August 2012 numbers represent a decline of over $2 million in August 2011, or a drop of around 24 percent.

Meanwhile, the Maryland Live Casino in Anne Arundel County continued to be a revenue juggernaut in August. In only its second month of operation, Maryland Live generated around $32.5 million in August and its average daily revenue per machine came in at $281.60 for its 3,717 machines.

In August, the Casino at Ocean Downs generated $2.7 million for the Education Trust Fund, bringing the calendar year contribution to nearly $17 million. The Berlin casino generated $311,888 in local impact grants in August and the calendar year-to-date total now stands at $1.9 million.