Cordish Company Partners Apply for Anne Arundel County, Maryland Casino License at Arundel Mills

PPE Casino Resorts Maryland, LLC (“PPE MD”) today submitted an application for the Video Lottery Operation License for Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  PPE MD is owned and managed by principals of Baltimore-based The Cordish Companies (“Cordish”).  PPE MD intends to develop a world-class, destination casino with 4,750 video lottery terminals (“VLTs”) at Arundel Mills, owned by an affiliate of Simon Property Group, the largest public <st1:country-region>U.S.</st1:country-region> real estate company. 

The Arundel Mills site, a leading tourist attraction in the state and one of the premiere attractions in the country, is the ideal location for the Anne Arundel County facility, and one of the premier locations in the <st1:country-region>United States</st1:country-region> for a casino/entertainment project.  Beyond its optimal location, strong consumer awareness, and ideal vehicular access, Arundel Mills offers unbeatable retail and entertainment amenities to complement a premiere gaming facility.  Given Maryland’s high gaming tax rate, no other competitor can afford to offer a fraction of the billion dollars of amenities into which this gaming facility will instantly integrate.  The combination of a premiere gaming facility with these attractions will guarantee the maximum possible revenues for a VLT facility in Anne Arundel County.   

Cordish is widely acknowledged as the premiere national developer of mixed-use, entertainment-oriented districts.  Likewise, its gaming developments include the two Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos in Hollywood and Tampa, Florida, two of the most profitable casino facilities in the history of gaming, and Indiana Live! outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. 

“As a Baltimore-based company, we are tremendously excited about the potential to bring a first-class casino to our home state,” said PPE MD managing member Joseph Weinberg. 

“At the end of the day, this is all about maximizing revenues.  The casino legislation disperses tax revenues to the horse industry as a whole, and to educational funding, regardless of where the facility is located.   So the maximum benefits in jobs and taxes for all constituents will be generated by the location and facility that produces the most revenue.  Our proposal at Arundel Mills will generate the highest visitation, and thereby the highest revenue for the State of Maryland, the Education Trust Fund, Anne Arundel County, the taxpayers of Maryland, and the horse racing industry.”