Fourth MD Casino Opens at Location Where State Lost Big Gamble

When the Rocky Gap Lodge opened in western Maryland in 1998 it was hailed as the tourist and business attraction that would revive the region's struggling economy.

By 2003, the $54 million state subsidized hotel complete with a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course in Cumberland was losing over $5 million per year, according to a Baltimore Sun report.

From 2010 to 2012 the state threw more than $10 million at the resort just to keep it operational as losses continued to mount, reported the Washington Post. 

Finally, in August, the state sold the resort to Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment for $6.8 million, which has since spent millions more to update the resort and turn it into a casino, according to the Post.

Last Wednesday, the casino, complete with 558 slot machines and 10 table games, opened at the resort.

Howard County delegate Frank Turner told the Post he thinks the casino and resort has a great deal of potential if marketed as a hotel, golf and casino package—something that will make the resort attractive in the wintertime as well as the spring, summer and fall.

The new casino will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to a Rocky Gap news release. In addition to the casino, Lakes Entertainment added four new restuarants to the resort including a lakeside restaurant, a bar and grill, a coffee shop and a "hamburger lounge," according to the company.

The new casino and restaurants helped the resort add 250 jobs, according to the Post.

Rocky Gap is the fourth casino to open in Maryland. It's location in Cumberland is about two hours from Montgomery County.