Horseshoe Baltimore revenues take an 18% nosedive in June
Slumping for months, the Russell Street gambling emporium has hit a new low
Above: City officials declared Horseshoe Casino “a game changer” when it opened five years ago. (Mark Reutter)
Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino recorded its lowest revenues in history last month, losing nearly $1 of every $5 it took in a year before.
Total slots and table game revenues fell in June to $18,686,750, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.
That was an 18.2% drop compared to June 2018 and $800,000 below the casino’s previous low water mark last November.
In short, it was the worst monthly showing since the casino opened in August 2014, hailed by then-Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake as an economic “game changer” and “anchor institution” for Baltimore.
Last month’s decline capped a three-month slide in gaming patronage that reduced the casino’s revenue stream by $9 million between April 1 and June 30, 2019.
By contrast, Horseshoe!s nearest competitor, Live! Casino & Hotel in Anne Arundel County, has registered sustained growth. Last month, it recorded revenues of $49 million, up nearly 2% from a year earlier.
Maryland’s newest and biggest casino, MGM National Harbor near Washington, took in $57 million in June, down 4.1% from its June 2018 total.
Some of the reasons for Horseshoe’s doldrums – and the effect of its lower-than-expected revenues on neighborhood local impact grants – were detailed in this story in The Brew.