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The $1.4 billion MGM National Harbor leapfrogged Maryland Live as the state's top revenue-producing casino in January, its first full month of operation.

The new Prince George's County casino, which opened in early December, generated $48.8 million from slot machines and table games, making it the state's top money maker by nearly $5 million, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency reported Monday.

Analysts said the market was still in flux as the state absorbed its sixth casino, and several cautioned against drawing long-term conclusions.

Because MGM National Harbor remains a novelty, "it's really difficult to extrapolate results moving forward," said analyst John Decree of Union Gaming. "It's a completely different type of property than what Maryland has seen so far. It's very Las Vegas-esque."

To many potential customers, MGM is "a shiny new toy," said University of Maryland professor Stephen McDaniel, who teaches a course on gambling.

MGM accounted for more than a third of the $126.2 million generated by all of the state's casinos in January.

Most other casinos saw "expected" declines as the state's "gaming market continues to evolve," the gaming control agency said in a release accompanying the figures. Not including MGM, revenues decreased 12.4 percent from January 2016.

Maryland Live Casino, historically the top money-maker, brought in about $44 million in January, down 15.6 percent from the same month last year.

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore generated $20.2 million in January, down 14.5 percent.

Those declines were "within the realm of projections," said James Karmel, a casino analyst and history professor at Harford Community College.

Karmel said the figures could be considered "good news" for the state because MGM's arrival helped drive significant statewide growth since last year. The six casinos' combined revenues were up 42.8 percent from the same month a year earlier.

"It does add credibility to observers who said MGM would grow the revenue, not just take away from existing casinos," Karmel said. "That kind of vindicates the 2012 referendum to add another casino."

The ballot measure allowed Maryland casinos to offer table games such as blackjack and roulette, and permitted a casino to be built in Prince George's County.

Maryland casinos have been booming, setting monthly revenue records even before MGM opened.

"We're still, I think, in a fairly robust economy," said McDaniel, who teaches sports and entertainment marketing. "I don't think we've felt the results of the economic downturn that other states did."

MGM aims to be a destination resort for overnight customers, including international guests. Many customers come from just across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Bill Boasberg, MGM National Harbor's general manager, said it is "pleased with our first full month's performance and look forward to further building our business going forward."

He said the casino is "also encouraged that our success translates into significant new tax dollars that will support local schools and other important Maryland projects that will benefit our region."

But the state anticipated that MGM's biggest Maryland rivals would lose some market share. To compensate them for any losses, state law allowed Maryland Live and Horseshoe to keep more of their slot machine earnings now that MGM is open.

Maryland Live now pays 36 percent of slots revenue to a state education fund instead of the previous 43 percent. Horseshoe's contribution decreased from 45 percent to 39 percent. Their share of revenue supporting the state's horse industry dropped a percentage point to 6 percent.

Maryland Live and Horseshoe had no comment Monday evening on January's figures.

The state's smaller casino operators appeared largely unaffected by the introduction of a new operator.

Hollywood Casino Perryville generated $5.8 million in January, up 4.6 percent from Jan. 2016. Revenue at Rocky Gap Casino Resort grew 11.8 percent year-over-year, to $3.7 million. The Casino at Ocean Downs generated $3.7 million in revenue, down 1.2 percent.

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