Atlantic City Casino Revenue Declines 11.3% In August 2010
September 12, 2010 6:47 amAtlantic City’s woes seem set to continue for a while yet, after its eleven casinos reported yet another monthly fall in their revenue figures.
In what should have been one of the busiest seasons of the year, Atlantic City’s casino posted a total win of $347.5 million for August, representing an 11.3% decline from the $391.7 million posted for the same month a year earlier.
In total, slots revenue was down 11.3% in August to $245.1 million, while table games also fell by 11.4% to $102.4 million. Atlantic City has now experienced 24 months of declining casino revenue and is currently down 8.4% for the first eight months of 2010 with winnings of $2.5 billion.
Whereas last month the Trump Taj Mahal and Atlantic City Hilton bucked the trend to post an increase in revenue, in August there were no exceptions with all eleven casinos declining by varying amounts.
Falling by the least amount was Caesars Atlantic City down by 5.7%, followed by Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City (-6%), the Showboat Casino Hotel (-7.5%) and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort (-8%).
All the rest experienced double digit falls in their revenue, including the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (-11.7 %), the Tropicana Casino and Resort (-13.9 %), Trump Plaza Hotel Casino (-14%), the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort (-14.5 %), Bally’s Atlantic City (-14.9 %), Trump Marina Hotel Casino (-20.4 %), and the Resorts Atlantic City, down 21.2 %.
It all adds up to continuing bad news for the state of New Jersey, which received just $24.3 million in gaming taxes for August and has now received 10.5% less in gross taxable revenue for the first eight months of 2010.
The increase in competition from neighbouring states has hit Atlantic City’s gaming industry particularly hard and New Jersey lawmakers are now contemplating a whole range of radical measures to reverse the trend, including allowing slot machines as horse racing tracks.
Although in its early stages, if such a decision went ahead it would spell more gloom for Atlantic City’s casinos who said they would find it difficult withstanding much more revenue losses.