“Right now, Charles Town needs to be looking to differentiate itself from the Maryland casinos including MGM National Harbor, located outside of Washington, D.C.,” Karmel said. James Karmel, a Maryland-based casino industry analyst with Gaming Atlantic, said he thinks Hollywood Casino should be making plans on how to set themselves apart from other area casinos.

I don’t think it’s a time to be an alarmist about it.” I am confident that the people at the Hollywood Casino are watching and listening and are extremely intelligent people and will adjust their business model in any way they need to. That doesn’t surprise me and doesn’t alarm me.

Of course the numbers in the first couple of weeks when anyone is new and open can have an impact. “In response to the numbers and percentages (of business lost to Hollywood Casino) I’m not an expert in this. Each and every time the Hollywood Casino has adjusted and come out victorious,” Gavin said. “This (the MGM National Harbor) is not the first casino that has popped up in the area. While he admits they expect a roughly 20 percent drop in 2017 revenues in Charles Town, there still feel that they will “remain competitive.”Īnnette Gavin, CEO of the Jefferson County Convention and Visitors Bureau, agrees with Schippers.

Over the last few years we have built a new hotel, completely refreshed our slot machine offerings, added a new entertainment venue featuring top performers, and built new restaurants and added new amenities for our Asian guests,” he said.Īccording to Schippers, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town has no plans for any staffing changes despite their loss of business. “We prepared well in advance by reinvesting in our business to remain competitive. Hollywood Casino Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Eric Schippers said that the casino knew the day when MGM National Harbor was coming and prepared for it. These days, there are many gambling options in Maryland, including the new MGM National Harbor casino, that are drawing business and profits away from the Charles Town casino.Īccording to the West Virginia Lottery, in the first two weeks since the $1.4 million National Harbor casino opened, video lottery revenues at Hollywood Casino are down about $670,000, or 19.5 percent, and table gambling revenues have dropped 22 percent, or about $214,000.

Hollywood casino at charles town wv