While Tuesday’s focus is all on New Jersey’s inaugural online gambling numbers, 2013 saw Atlantic City’s land-based casinos record their first annual revenue haul below $3b since 1991. Total gaming revenue at AC’s dozen casinos – now down to 11 following the closure of the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel this past weekend – came to $2.87b in 2013, down 6.2% from 2012’s tally of $3.05b and down 45% since 2006’s peak of $5.2b. December’s monthly revenue total was down 4% to $214.5m and would have been down 7.4% but for the $7.4m brought in via the state’s new online gambling operations.
For 2013 as a whole, the Borgata retained its crown as AC’s top earner with $617m, although that figure was up a mere 0.7% over 2012. Runner-up Harrah’s was well off the pace at $356.4m, down 10.7% year-on-year. Caesars was not far off its corporate partner at $336.4m, down 6.2% from 2012. The rest of the 2013 figures looked like this: Trump Taj Mahal ($259.9m, -12%), Bally’s ($244.4m, -17.4%), Tropicana ($228m, -8.8%), Showboat ($193.2m, -14.3%), Revel ($155.1m, +26.8%, although this comparison is based on Revel being open for only nine months of 2012), Atlantic Club ($141.8m, +11.6%), Resorts ($130.8m, no change), Golden Nugget ($124.8m, -4.3%) and the Trump Plaza ($73.9m, -27.9%).
Boyd Gaming president Keith Smith – whose company owns 50% of the Borgata – says the launch of online gambling did no damage to the Borgata’s brick-and-mortar poker room, but the month of December saw the Borgata’s overall gaming revenue fall 18.5% to $44m. That was still good enough for first place, however, as Caesars played bridesmaid at $29.4m (+20.2%) and Harrah’s was down 6.9% to $26.9m. The rest of the also-rans ranked thusly; Trump Taj Mahal ($16.5m, -12.3%), Bally’s ($16.34m, -22.7%), Tropicana ($16.31m, +12%), Showboat ($13.2m, -15.2%), Revel ($12.9m, +31.3%), Atlantic Club ($9.4, -5.7%), Golden Nugget ($9.2m, -13.5%), Resorts ($8..8m, -7.3%) and the Trump Plaza again bringing up the rear at $3.95m, down a hefty 33.8%, raising questions about how long it will be before AC’s casino ranks contract again.
