Atlantic City Casinos See Massive Upswing In Revenue In Q1 2017

Casinos in Atlantic City have recorded a healthy growth for the first quarter of this year, indicating a strong revival of the once struggling casino industry.

According to latest data released by the state regulatory body, gross operating profits for the industry was $139.2 million from Jan 2017 to Mar 2017, a growth of 30.4 percent when compared to the first quarter last year.

Announcing the data, Matt Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission remarked that Atlantic City casinos were once again healthy after a period of heavy losses.

In a statement Levinson said,

If there were any doubt about the health of Atlantic City’s casino industry, these results should lay them to rest. It’s clear to me that the industry has stabilized and operators are showing healthier bottom lines. With the summer upon us, there are a host of concerts, festivals and other events over the next several months that should help casinos continue to grow.

Casinos registered revenue of $816.7 million in the first quarter, which was an increase of 1.7 percent over last year’s $803.1 million in the same period. Gaming win in particular was impressive with $606.2 million, up by four percent year-over- year. Money won from gamblers accounted for 74 percent of the total revenue earned by the casino industry in the quarter.

Atlantic City Casinos

Revenue from hotel rooms was $83.7 million, a drop of 5.3 percent from last year’s $88.4 million. Food & beverage saw a drop of 4.7 percent in revenue to reach $93.6 million. Entertainment and others were flat at $33 million. The first quarter performance would be more robust if the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal is not excluded. The casino was acquired earlier this year by an investor group led by Hard Rock International.

Online gaming has gained the maximum with a growth of 29.5 percent year on year going from $61.8 million to $80.1 million. Casino games accounted for the maximum revenue with online poker declining. Online poker revenue fell 24 percent over last year, dropping from $2.58 million to $1.97 million in April 2017.

In terms of casinos, the Borgata topped the list with the highest operating profit of $61.4 million, a 29-percent jump over previous year first quarter, followed by Harrah’s with $23.7 million and Caesars with $20.1 million. In the internet gaming segment, Caesars Interactive- NJ posted operating profit of $2.3 million while Resorts Digital saw a profit of $570,000.