In Maryland, American casino operator, MGM Resorts International, reportedly inaugurated a $48 million expansion of its MGM National Harbour on Sunday that encompasses a larger poker room as well as 285 additional slots. According to a Sunday report from The Baltimore Sun newspaper, the Prince George’s County venue also now features an off-track horseracing sportsbetting facility run in partnership with the Maryland Jockey Club alongside even more bar and dining options on its second floor. Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International opened MGM National Harbor in December of 2016 and the new extension included the construction of an outdoor terrace complete with an area for smokers that features panoramic views over the nearby Potomac River.
“We thought this is going really well, so let’s add space,” Melonie Johnson, MGM National Harbor President and Chief Operating Officer for MGM Resorts International, reportedly told the newspaper. “We never anticipated the volume we’d have at this property. That was the decision-maker to move poker to the second floor.”
Johnson declared that the majority of the high-value players visiting MGM National Harbor come from Virginia, Maryland and nearby Washington, DC, although the giant venue additionally attracts guests from further afield including those attending an area convention or a concert at its 3,000-seat theatre. The Baltimore Sun reported that MGM National Harbor is now one of the largest taxpayers in Maryland after last year contributing some $170 million to the eastern state’s Education Trust Fund while the recent extension furthermore involved the hiring of 250 additional employees to bring the venue’s total workforce to 4,200 people.
The newspaper reported that Live! Casino Hotel Maryland, which is located a little over 32 miles to the north near the city of Baltimore, recently inaugurated an expansion of its own in a bid to attract more visitors. The publication explained that this project saw the six-year-old Anne Arundel County venue add a 310-room hotel as well as an events space, a spa and a restaurant. This strategy seems to have worked as the casino in the small community of Hanover reportedly saw its gaming revenues for June rise by 15.1% year-on-year to almost $48.2 million although MGM National Harbor trumped this with an 18% increase to $59.3 million. The figures from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency purportedly moreover revealed that Horseshoe Casino Baltimore recorded a 2.2% bump in takings last month to just over $22.8 million while state-wide there was an average overall improvement of 14.1%.
