Published on December 2, 2013 by April Gardner

The state of Maryland will soon have a brand new casino that may be expected to switch the gaming industry, and the developer of that new casino is predicted to be named by the point the brand new year begins. The state has narrowed the list of potential developers to three.

Over the past few months, three developers have made their pitches and shown their hands, hoping to secure the license to construct a casino in Prince George's County. The casino is a part of some of the anticipated gaming expansions within the Northeast, and one who could affect casinos inside the region for years to come.

MGM Resorts International, which owns casinos inside the US, placed a bid they hope will land them the Prince George's casino. The MGM proposal would bring a casino to the Potomac River at National Harbor. The casino can be located off of I95, which makes it accessible to both Maryland residents, and travelers touring up the East Coast.

The MGM bid was probably the most lucrative of the 3 until Penn National revamped their bid to incorporate an extra $320 million the corporate agreed to pump into the Maryland health and education systems. That brought the whole bid of Penn National to over $1 billion. MGM's proposal was for a $925 million facility.

The third bid, placed by Greenwood Racing, is regarded as the long shot, with a $761 million proposal. The Greenwood group also upped their bid in recent weeks, adding a promise of $100 million to road improvements.

"While the MGM bid looks to be the most obvious choice, Maryland regulators are strongly considering all the other proposals," said analyst Harvey Franz. "REGARDLESS OF which proposal wins, Maryland will soon become one of the crucial gaming giants within the region with the addition of this new casino."

Maryland is chasing both Pennsylvania and New Jersey with regards to gaming revenue. Atlantic City have been the premiere gaming destination at the East Coast until three years ago when Pennsylvania passed New Jersey because the top grossing casino industry within the East. Pennsylvania trails only Nevada in overall gaming revenue within the US.

Maryland is regarded as to have among the finest preventative programs for problem gambling and treatment. The state started gaining national notoriety for the programs, and its policies are being modeled within the country.

Read More... [Source: Casino Gambling News]