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Ocean Downs: Revenues Up, But Not as High as Projected

creative commons

Casino revenues may be up but Ocean Downs is not bringing in the kind money that had been hoped for when slots got approved.

It only brought in $56 million in revenue providing only $27 million in taxes and fees.

When the green light was given in 2009 to build the casino it was supposed to rake in $97 million by 2013 with $65 million going to the state and local governments.

The Salisbury Daily Times reports that the casino has only been able to hire half of the workforce that had been projected.

Nancy Howard, a former Ocean City council member, who has long opposed slots told the paper that she felt the community had been “hoodwinked”.

The paper adds that William Rickman who owns the casino did not return messages and the casino’s general manager Joseph Cavilla declined to discuss finances per company policy.  

The Daily Times suggests that questions arise as to whether the state projects used faulty assumptions.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.