Lucky Horseshoe for Maryland; Old McDonald had a casino

What would have been a revenue-negative July for Maryland casinos turned into their biggest month ever, thanks to Horseshoe Baltimore. Gaming revenue rose more $23 million, with all that and more coming from the Caesars Entertainment property. While the casino is still short of projections, it’s still making the difference between a growing gaming market and a saturated one.

Not too much skin came off Maryland Live‘s nose, as the Cordish Gaming property was only down 2%, grossing a state-leading $57 million. Hollywood Casino Perryville brought in only $7 million for GLPI Penn National Gaming, an 8% decline. Business was good, however, for The Casino at Ocean Downs ($6 million), up 5% and way out west at Rocky Gap Casino ($4 million), which nudged 4% upwards.

* Racino owner Jeff Gural hopes the second time will be the charm for his attempt to upgrade to full casino status in New York State. But will 24 additional hotel rooms and “a whimsical country fair theme” do the trick? The state gaming commission’s Kevin Law said Gural “can’t just put lipstick on his current proposal and expect us to approve it.” Gural has to be hoping that the promise of day spa, 12,000-seat outdoor concert facility and (maybe) the purchase of Tioga Country Club keep Tioga Downs 2.0 from going “Oink.”

* Congratulations to Robert Sheldon, newly promoted from general manager of Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway to president-designate of the Tropicana Las Vegas. (This assumes that Penn National’s purchase goes through, which is a slam dunk.) This is a real feather in Sheldon’s cap. Penn, meanwhile, remains coy about what its promised $200 million in capital improvements will exactly entail beyond some new slot machines.

* Some casino hosts get rich off degenerate gamblers. Few have the nerve to rub your nose in it like Steve Cyr, currently hustling high rollers for Westgate Las Vegas. “I’ve had had four guys commit suicide because they couldn’t stand being poor due to their gambling losses,” he brags, including one man Cyr goaded into killing himself. What a prince.