Players flocked to Baltimore newest casino over Labor Day weekend

The high volume the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore saw during its first week in business — interspersed with a few snags — isn't anything out of the ordinary, the facility's general manager said.

The casino saw more than 50,000 visitors during Labor Day weekend following the 15,000 visitors that came through the casino’s doors on its opening night Aug. 26.

Chad Barnhill, the casino’s general manager, said the volume and play levels during the first week have been comparable to other recent Horseshoe openings in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

“It’s in line with what we forecasted,” he said. “We were very excited with the volumes of people who came through to see the facility.”

The first week in business didn't come without a few hitches. A fight broke out at 3 a.m. Saturday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

"Those things are going to happen unfortunately at times any time that you’re going to get 5 million visits a year, which is what we're forecasting,” Barnhill said. "I’m very proud of the way the team handled those incidents. They made sure it was defused in a very fast fashion.”

And as Barnhill expected prior to the casino's opening, the casino did see some turnover of employees in the first week.

“It has not been significant,” he said. "It takes being in a 24-7 environment for several days to see whether it's right for some people."

Barnhill said the facility received strong traffic from the Orioles games throughout the past week, and he’s looking forward to the game-day business from Ravens fans. The casino will host tailgates prior to each Ravens home game.