In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic brought the hospitality industry to a halt in many parts of the United States. Restaurants, theme parks, and event venues across the country were forced to either close or seriously limit their operations to help stem the spread of COVID-19. Casinos were no exception and, by the end of the year, revenue in American casinos had dropped a whopping 31%–the lowest numbers the industry had seen in nearly 17 years.
Now, a year later, just over half the population has been fully vaccinated against the deadly virus, and businesses in the service sector are seeing a recovery as restrictions relax. In Maryland, those numbers are even higher and casinos have kicked off a financial comeback, despite rough beginnings at the start of the year.
Compared to 2020, last February 2021 was a nightmare for casinos. Every single Maryland casino reported a significant decrease in revenue from year to year, with Horseshoe Casino having the misfortune of boasting an over 20% decrease. MGM National Harbor managed to lose the largest amount of money, figured at $10,275,824.
In total, revenue from the six Maryland casinos decreased by 16.6% from February 2020 to 2021. At the time, four of the casinos were operating at 50% capacity and two were only taking on 25% of their usual business. Now, Rocky Gap is the only casino in the state to have a year-to-year decrease in revenue as of August 2021.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Filip Cakic over at Maryland Reporter
