Casino Revenue Mirrors Seasonal Downturn

BERLIN -- Likely a reflection of the considerable drop off in the number of visitors to the resort area, the Casino at Ocean Downs’ revenue numbers for October showed revenues had dropped back to a level not seen since June.

The Maryland State Lottery Agency, which oversees the two existing slots facilities in the state, released the final numbers for October this week, and it appears the revenue figures returned to what will likely be the norm during the offseason in the resort area. After spiking upward during the months of July and August and even September to a large degree, the October overall revenue figure for Ocean Downs returned to just over $3.8 million, just about where it was for the month of June.

In October, the Casino at Ocean Downs generated $3.82 million, representing a considerable decline from September when the facility took in around $4.6 million. The $3.82 million figure for October is more in keeping with the rest of the off-season months since the Casino at Ocean Downs opened last January. In its first month in business, Ocean Downs took in $3 million and the figure steadily increased, albeit by small chunks, throughout last winter and spring.

The Casino at Ocean Downs grossed $3.1 million in February, $3.2 million in March, $3.5 million in April, $3.7 million in May and $3.8 million in June. In July, buoyed by the hundreds of thousands of visitors to Ocean City and other resort areas, the figure spiked up to $5.3 million, then dropped back to $4.6 million in August, a drop blamed on the facility losing a couple of busy weekend nights because of Hurricane Irene. In September, the Casino at Ocean Downs’ revenue stayed stable at $4.46 million, but reverted back to the $3 million range for the month of October.

A look at the average daily gross per machine follows a similar pattern. In the peak month of July, the average daily gross per machine came in at $215.46, the highest month thus far. In October, the average daily gross per machine came in at $154.41. In June, when the facility also took in $3.8 million, the average daily gross per machine was $168.35, or about $14 better than October, but the casino has added 50 new machines since June, raising its to 800.

For September, the casino contributed $1.85 million to the Education Trust Fund, the casino’s share came in at $1.26 million, and the facility generated $210,614 in local impact grants. With the addition of October, the total amount of local impact grants surpassed $1 million.