MGM National Harbor

AAEA supports MGM Resorts International's plans to construct and operate a casino and resort at National Harbor.

MGM Resorts International unveiled architectural renderings Wednesday for an $800 million casino and resort overlooking the Potomac River at National Harbor, the waterfront development in Prince George’s County.  The company is in the running for a casino license from Maryland that will allow for table games as well as 3,000 slot machines, a result of a decision last year by state and county voters to approve an expansion of gambling in Maryland.



An overhead rendering of the proposed MGM casino at National Harbor. (Courtesy MGM Resorts International)

To pick a site, the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission (more) plans to visit three locations in Prince George’s next month: National Harbor, Rosecroft Raceway and a vacant parcel in Fort Washington. The commission then plans to hold a series of public hearings to gather input before a selection, possibly by the end of the year. The new casino would be the state’s sixth, and it could open by mid-2016.

MGM’s plans call for an 18-story glass tower hotel, a seven-story parking garage and a pedestal “designed to evoke the plinth of a grand monument” like those along the Mall. In addition to the casino and hotel, the project would include restaurants, entertainment, upscale retail and a spa.

The complex, which would stretch 1,500 feet, would also include a reflecting pool with fountains that could be used for ice-skating in the winter.

The two other bidders for the Prince George’s license are Penn National Gaming, which owns Rosecroft Raceway, and a newly formed subsidiary of Greenwood Racing, which owns a Parx Casino north of Philadelphia and has proposed a similar venue on a 22-acre parcel at Indian Head Highway and Old Fort Road.  (Wash Post, 9/25/2013)