Maryland Live Casino opening June 6th

Is anyone else planning to check out the Maryland Live Casino in Hanover, MD on opening day?

Supposedly, this casino breaks the U.S. record for most slot machines available on opening day. 4,750 machines.

I'm looking forward to checking out the electronic table games (Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, etc.) from manufacturers I hadn't seen before.

If they do it right, I think it will put a lot of pressure on casinos in Delaware and West Virginia, since this will be the closest casino to Washington D.C., and nearly the largest.

http://www.marylandlivecasino.com/

 

I dont think I would make a special trip there, but would check it out if I was in the area. Electronic table games do not interest me. I would rather travel to Delaware or AC for the real thing. I think MD will eventually go with live table games down the road.

 

I am hoping they have the bubble craps machines like in vegas. Apparently there will be a whole bar with roulette at each bar stool. Will report back with my findings

 

OK, that was a disaster. I would estimate 10,000-15,000 people showed up for the grand opening. Being lucky enough to find a parking spot, I thought it would be easy to get through the doors. I was wrong. They had a line, which snaked around the largest mall in Maryland (casino built in the parking lot of this mall). For comparison sake, if you had the people stand in line along the strip to get into MGM Grand, the line would stretch all the way to the Venetian.

Combine that with no signs pointing people where to go, and poorly planned traffic routing, and you have a recipe for a lot of unhappy campers. Considering the opening was scheduled for 10pm, and doors to close at 2am, I decided it wasn't worth waiting in line until after midnight to get in the doors.

That said, I think this casino will do very well in the long run.

 

Coincidentally, I was there a couple days before the opening. On a 4-hour layover at BWI, my daughter, who lives in the area, picked us up and took us for lunch at a restaurant across the street from the casino. Couldn't believe a casino was going up next to a mall. That parking area has to be a zoo. Sounds like the whole place is. Agreed, the area is ripe for gamblers.

 

update: Well, the weekend after the opening, I got into a motorcycle crash which kept me away from the place for quite a while.:confused2:

But eventually I made it out a couple times. They DO have bubble craps. The catch is that every craps machine in the house plays on the same bubble. Its amazing to me that you can sit at the bar and play craps, roulette, baccarat, and sic bo. For the first 3, there is a camera watching the dice and the roulette ball. Baccarat is truly electronic, meaning no actual cards are dealt.

I like the craps because the $5 minimum does not apply to each bet. As long as you have at least $5 spread out on the table, your bets can be as small as 50 cents. Literally, you can buy the 4 and 10 for 50 cents each, and get paid correctly, to the penny. Its fun to do a 50 cent pass line, and 50 cent come bets. I've never been able to play that cheap, even at the Joker's Wild!

Also, VP conditions are the best in Maryland. 50c/$1 JoB has the 8/5 paytable. Its not 9/6, but certainly better than the 6/5 offered in Delaware.
25c JoB is 7/5.

On my first visit, I watched a guy insert a $20 bill into a 2-credit $5 "quick hits" slot machine. On his second spin, he lined up the quick hit symbols for a cool $50,000

Later that same night, I inserted a $5 bill into a $5 machine for one spin, and hit for $125 .

Overall, I have mixed feelings on the place. While their employees don't seem to be as friendly as the other offerings in the MD/DC/DE/WV area, the games are very LOOSE! I expect them to tighten things up once the place has been open for a while. I think this place will do very well..... until/if MGM Mirage opens a casino at National Harbor:confused2:

 

update, the casino has fixed the craps glitch, so that you can no longer do 50c pass line bets, or 50c place bets. now its just like everywhere else. :Þ

 

Chef,

The new parking structure attached to the casino actually works like a charm. Even with busy weekend traffic, it moves fairly well.

I couldn't believe the mall location either, but after visiting and seeing the operation, it makes perfect sense. Mom and kids go shoe shopping and hit the food court... Dad hits the casino and has a few brewskis. I would love to be an investor in this place.... It is succeeding at a VERY high level. Bobby's Burger Palace sucks bad, however. As I pointed out in another post, for shame, Bobby Flay.

Nick

 

Absolutely, this place would appear to be a gold mine.

 

MGM Mirage is trying to get their hands on a casino at National Harbor, which would be much closer to DC and VA. If legislation passes allowing it, I may pick up a few shares of MGM (but I realize they have many other problems)

 

I'm not really impressed with the place. I have been a few times and its really crowded each time I have been. When I went the craps was a 10 minimum not 5. There is way too many generic video slot machines that you see no one playing.

On a positive note, the hangover games are only 1.00 for all four games instead of 2.00 like some of the places on the strip and there are a whole lot of them.

 

You're not impressed, yet your primary complaint is that the place is packed and has high table minimums. Me thinks you may be in the minority......

With that logic, Arizona Charlies is superior to Wynn. If it is busy, and the table minimums are high, they are doing well. Has any packed house casino ever kept $5 table minimums during peak hours. The answer is No. I don't care for bsuy casinos either, but it is what it is... I can't say i've never been impressed with a successful operation.

DC has a metropolitan population of 5.9 million... Baltimore is near 3 million. Maryland Live is located at the number 1 tourist attraction in Maryland, and it is easily accessible from both DC and Baltimore.

This place is a goldmine. Period.

Nick

 

specifically AT the bar, the minimums are $5. All of the seats just behind the bar are indeed $10 minimum.

The place will be a gold mine, as long as they don't screw it up like Penn National did with Perryville. When the Perryville casino first opened, the penny slots were crazy loose. One could not seem to lose there the first month. Now, they are the among the tightest slots I've ever seen. They lost almost all of their regulars when that happened.

MD Live does have a damn good location though, and will bring in even more revenue when they open the concert venue this fall.

 

The National Harbor location is the gold mine to be. The proximity to NOVA, DC, and MD plus the proximity to I-95. I believe it was said that if built it will be the largest casino that is also the closest to I-95. I hope Maryland approves it and the table games too.
I personally dont have any interest in crossing the river for just slots, when I have Charles town less then 30mins from me. I also am a MGM player so having a MGM property on the east coast will be nice.

 

Anywhere near baltimore is going to be a gold mine, because we are bored with the same ole things to do. I agree that the casino is doing well, but like you said I don't like a cramped casino.

There are far too few cocktail waitresses. The three times that I have been, I never once had one even come close to my section and had to go to the bar which by the way has barteders that are just waiting for you to come up to them.