MGM National Harbor casino in Oxon Hill is now Maryland’s largest casino by gross revenue and total taxes paid.
For the people of Prince George’s County, MGM promised substantial, badly needed funding to improve the county’s public schools that are struggling to give the county’s children the quality education they deserve and make them competitive for jobs and college admissions.
MGM National Harbor is building a 50,000-square-foot expansion above the main floor of the casino — a 37 percent increase in gaming space. It’s classified as an “interior expansion,” the approval of which was allowed to occur without a site plan and without public hearings or impact studies. It is expected to be completed this year.
So why isn’t this good news? Expansion of the casino will allow MGM to do more business. And more business means more taxes. Or does it?
Slot machines and gaming tables are taxed at very different rates. MGM pays taxes equal to 20 percent of gaming table revenue and 56 percent of slot machine revenue. If you were MGM, you’d do whatever you could, legally, of course, to remix your casino floor, shifting business in favor of gaming tables and away from slot machines.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Les Cohen over at the Washington Post
