Ocean Downs now offers Texas Hold 'em, craps, blackjack and more
The smell of fresh paint still hung heavy in the new 35,000-square-foot addition at Ocean Downs as the casino recently held an invite-only opening of tabletop games.
The evening’s event, held largely to earn the go-ahead from Maryland Lottery and Gaming, featured 270 new slot machines and 10 table games, including craps, roulette, blackjack, three-card poker and Texas Hold 'em.
The event successfully earned the gaming commission's approval and allowed Ocean Downs to open fully to the public Saturday evening, according to a casino spokesperson.
Ocean Downs General Manager Bobbi Sample said the casino’s addition of such games — the last of Maryland’s six casinos to offer them — was a decision borne of public demand.
“The volume of calls we’ve gotten on a daily basis since table games were allowed in Maryland (in 2013) has been huge,” she said. “We think there’s going to be a massive demand for this from our patrons, as well as people in the area who haven’t visited us before.”
Austin Miller, the senior vice president of gaming operations with Churchill Downs, Inc. — which partnered with Saratoga Casino Holdings, LLC, in early 2017 to purchase the casino — echoed Sample’s impression of the area.
“It just completes the overall gaming experience here, and people are going to love it,” he said. “We’ve been questioned day after day, ‘when are you going to have table games?’
“Well, today’s the day.”
Sample said any proceeds garnered by player losses at the tables Friday were going to charity.
“Fifty percent is going to the American Legion Post 166 (in Ocean City) and the other half is going to Diakonia (the homeless shelter in West Ocean City),” she said.
While Sample said the casino wasn’t focusing on nearby competition in installing the table games, the numbers suggest they could help Ocean Downs get a leg up on northern competition.
In 2016, Delaware casinos — all of which host table games — had a notable advantage over Ocean Downs.
Harrington Casino & Raceway, Ocean Downs’ closest competition, earned $88.5 million in gaming revenue in 2016 according to the Delaware State Lottery, compared to Ocean Downs’ $58.5 million, per Maryland Lottery and Gaming.
Dover Downs Hotel and Casino earned $150 million in gaming revenue that year, and the Casino at Delaware Park earned $148 million, according to the Delaware State Lottery.
“We’re adding these (games) because it’s going to be beneficial to us and those that benefit from the tax money we raise,” Sample said. “As far as competition, we just want to put the best product out there and hope people come here.”
In attendance at the invite-only night were a number of local political figures, including Berlin Mayor Gee Williams, Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan and Councilman Wayne Hartman.
“Hopefully, the new earnings from this will trickle down to the whole community,” Hartman said. “Ocean City and Worcester in general benefit from the money that’s generated here, and it’s good for the whole area. It’s more jobs, et cetera, so all this just benefits everyone around here.”
The casino sits a few scant miles north of Ocean Pines on Maryland 589, and Ocean Pines Association President Doug Parks Parks said it’s a local business which has his approval. Parks noted some of the revenue generated by the casino feeds back into the community.
“I’m absolutely in favor of it,” he said. “Because of the benefits to the state and the surrounding area, I’m in full support of having the casino there.”
Parks recalled that when the possibility of the incoming area casino first arose, people were “up in arms” about potential downsides — miles of backed-up traffic being one such concern — but none of those issues manifested from his point of view.
“I don’t think it’s had any negative impact whatsoever, from my viewpoint with the (association) and as a regular citizen,” he said. “It’s been entirely positive as far as I can tell, and I suspect they wouldn’t have brought in (tabletop games) if it didn’t make sense from a business perspective.”