Prince George’s County’s efforts to attract a Las Vegas-style casino along the Potomac River were given a boost Tuesday, when state analysts determined that a Maryland casino would bring in at least $100 million a year in extra revenue for the state through an expansion of gambling.
A joint analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers and state analysts found that money from table games such as blackjack and roulette, as well as additional revenues from 3,000 slot machines at a casino at National Harbor, would generate nearly $250 million more in annual gross gambling revenues than casinos would make if lawmakers maintain the status quo.
A National Harbor casino would be the most profitable in the state, drawing an estimated $460.7 million a year, a figure that eclipses revenue estimates for the state’s newest casino, Maryland Live!, by more than $8 million.
| Gambling revenues | ||||||
| Maryland casinos could generate millions more dollars from slots and table games if an expansion of gambling is approved by state lawmakers and voters, according to a new report. | ||||||
| Location | Slots | Table games | Total revenue | |||
| Prince George’s County | $374.6 million | $86.2 million | $460.8 million | |||
| Anne Arundel County | $367.5 million | $84.5 million | $452 million | |||
| Baltimore City | $321.6 million | $74 million | $395.6 million | |||
| Cecil County | $131.3 million | $30.2 million | $161.5 million | |||
| Worcester County | $53.8 million | $12.4 million | $66.2 million | |||
| Allegany County | $49.6 million | $11.4 million | $61 million | |||
| Total | $1.3 billion | $298.7 million | $1.6 billion | |||
| Source: Department of Legislative Services | ||||||
The report marked a small victory for Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, who has touted the casino as the solution to his county’s search for new revenues.
“The state needs new money, the county does also,” Baker said. “The sixth casino answers both those questions.”
The analysis compared potential revenues of two styles of facilities at National Harbor — a “regular” casino with 3,000 slots and a high-end destination casino complete with a 400-room hotel and other amenities. Both styles would include table games.
Investors at National Harbor say they are only interested in building the best at the Potomac convention destination, an investment of at least $750 million. The state would have to give up some its 67 percent share of slots revenues to make such an investment attractive to investors, said Milt Peterson, National Harbor’s developer.
“There’s chicken feathers, and there’s chicken salad. We want to be chicken salad,” Peterson said. “You get what you pay for.”
Gross gambling revenues would total $1.6 billion once all six casinos are up and running, said Warren Deschenaux, director of the State Department of Legislative Services.
It’s now up for lawmakers to decide how those dollars would be split between the state and casino operators, and once the numbers are crunched, to determine if the state would collect more money than if it stood pat with the current state of gambling, Deschenaux said.
The Cordish Cos., developer of Maryland Live!, which opened last week, questioned the accuracy of the report’s revenue estimates. The estimates showed that despite a loss of some slots revenue from increased competition in Prince George’s, the Anne Arundel County casino operator would collect an extra $31 million in revenue, an increase of 20 percent.
Joe Weinberg, president of gaming for the Cordish Cos., pointed to testimony that the state’s revenue estimates for an Eastern Shore casino were off by roughly 50 percent.
“What you’re seeing is admission that every number presented here is uncertain, and that there’s uncertainty about the uncertainty of it,” Weinberg said.
Any expansion of gambling must be approved by Maryland voters.
