Atlantic City has taken quite a severe pounding recently, but according to the Division of Gaming Enforcement, there’s at least some good news to come out of the AC these days. That’s because the DGE released its report on profit and loss figures recently and most of the 12 casinos in Atlantic City did relatively well over the third quarter of 2012 with the total gross operating profits accounting for an increase of 2.3% from their numbers a year ago.
For the months of June, July, and August, the AC’s casinos with the exception of Revel reported a total gross operating profit of $186.4 million, an increase from the $182.1 million the casinos earned during the same three months of 2011. Equally important is the fact that during the first nine months of 2012, gross operating profit hit $454 million, a number that represents a 9% increase from the same time frame a year ago.
It must be noted that these three months didn’t account for the casinos recent forced-closure caused by Hurricane Sandy while last year’s three-month time frame included three days wherein the casinos were closed because of Hurricane Irene. More importantly, these numbers don’t include Revel’s figures, which, when accounted for causes these same numbers to drop like an anchor in the ocean.
With Revel’s figures calculated into the total, the gross operating figures from the third quarter of 2012 dropped by nearly 18% to $149.5 million, with Revel’s $37 million losses for the quarter accounting for a huge chunk of the sliced revenue pie.
Of the 11 casinos in the AC, Harrah’s Resort took home the highest gross operating profit in the quarter, earning $42.6, which represents a 29% increase from their numbers in the same time frame a year ago. Caesars Atlantic City also reported a 29% increase in their gross operating revenue, earning $36.2 million in the process. Coming in a close third, albeit somewhat disappointingly, is the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which reported an operating profit of $34.4 million, a number that represents a sharp decline of 36% from their numbers last year. Meanwhile, Bally’s Atlantic City also came out on the positive end of the fence, earning $19 million in operating profit for the quarter, which is an increase of 11 percent. Showboat Casino Hotel earned $18 million in profit, a 7.7% increase from their previous numbers; they’re then followed by the Golden Nugget Atlantic City, which reported a quarterly profit of $2.4 million, up more than 13 percent from last year.
As for the rest, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing in terms of gross operating revenue, highlighted – or low-lighted – by the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, which earned $16.7 million in profit in those three months, an decrease of 18% and the Tropicana Resort Casino, which posted $16 million in profits, a subtle decline of just over four percent.
And then there’s Revel, which has seen its operations taken quite a beating since opening in April of this year. Enough of a beating, in fact, to draw defense from company CEO, Kevin DeSanctis, who remains optimistic of the casinos’s long term success in Atlantic City.
“While it always takes time, post-opening, to achieve the results we know we are capable of, we are making progress, our business model is new to Atlantic City and it’s unrealistic to expect Revel’s new business model to resonate with those who have known Atlantic City as a purely gaming destination over the past 30 years,” he said.
We’re a little past the optimism stage in terms of seeing a bright future for Revel. Although DeSanctis makes some salient points, there’s no telling whether Revel can still get its feet back from under it.
