Casino Targets Live Table Games for Spring

Maryland Live! officials announced Wednesday that the casino will have live table games in place by early spring, and will be hiring more than 800 dealers to shuffle cards and collect the dice. 

Once the state of Maryland approves the relevant regulations, the new casino plans to move quickly in adding at least 150 live table games, potentially bringing a younger and wealthier crowd.

It will also eventually move to 24-hour operations. Overall, Maryland Live! plans to hire as many as 1,200 workers, including dealers and various ancillary positions.

The casino plans to open a free "dealer school" to train and identify dealer candidates in conjunction with Anne Arundel Community College. Those who pass through the 12-week program will be guaranteed an audition. The dealer school will start on Jan. 7 and will operate inside Marley Station mall in Glen Burnie.

Maryland Live! officials said they will introduce Blackjack, Roulette, Sic Bo, Craps and Baccarat as soon as the end of the winter. They plan to introduce poker tables in phases, though it's unclear whether they will debut immediately. 

On Election Day, Maryland voters approved a measure allowing for live casino games in the state, while also approving a license for a sixth casino to be located in Prince George's County. The Cordish Cos., which operates the casino, had opposed the measure on the grounds that the table games issue should have been separate from the issue of the additional license.

Cordish president David Cordish also said the state should have allowed Maryland Live! and a proposed casino in Baltimore to get established before approving more licenses. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence that Maryland Live! would thrive.

"We are doing 70 percent of the business in Maryland today ... we know how to compete. We're a world-class facility. We'll compete," Cordish said.

Maryland Live! pulled in $30.9 million in revenue in October. 

Maryland Live! General Manager Rob Norton said that figure will increase in the short term with table games in place, but might drop down again once other casinos in the state are up and running. Table games will comprise about 25 percent of the casino's revenue, Norton said.