Gamblers' Hot Streak Compound Borgata Casino Woes

If Atlantic City’s casinos weren’t suffering enough from a weak economy and increasing competition from neighbouring states, it would seem that the one time gaming mecca has now got the luck of its punters to worry about, too.
In particular, the $1.1 billion Borgata Hotel Casino has been complaining about taking a $9 million hit to revenue during its most recent third quarter, leading to a 7% decline in net revenue for the period to $207.7 million, and a worrying 19.7% fall in gross operating profits to $54.3 million.
As Paul Chakmak, the CEO of Borgata’s parent company, Boyd Gaming Corp explains:
“The most significant factor impacting Borgata’s results was lower table games revenue, which was largely a function of unusually lucky play by our customers. Had we experienced historical table games hold, we estimate revenue would have been $9 million higher during the quarter.”
After conducting an examination of the variance in their figures, it was concluded that gamblers at the casino simply experienced a hot streak and commenting on the matter, vice president of marketing Dave Coskey quipped:
“We’ve always said that Borgata can be your lucky place. Our customers proved that during this month.”
However, the latest figures coming from the Borgata have added to the growing concerns of the industry, which has seen the gaming market in Atlantic City decline for 25 consecutive months.
Despite generating the most revenue of any of Atlantic City’s 11 casinos last month, the $52 million figure still represented a 16.1% decline in the Borgata’s year on year tally.
The Borgata announced last week a 3% reduction in its workforce amounting to around 200 employees, in order to help cope with the worsening situation.