The Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City has posted an impressive 24% improvement in net revenue in 2014.
According to the company’s annual reports to investors, net revenue in 2014 reached $303.08 million, an improvement largely attributed to an increase in gambling revenue amounting to $55.2 million.
Tropicana’s operating profits posted small gains, amounting to $12.4 million in 2014 compared to $11.19 million in 2013. The $31.7 million property tax refund from Atlantic City helped, giving owner Carl Icahn some measure of relief after five casinos in Atlantic City shuttered their windows last year. One of them, the Trump Taj Mahal, is expected to be added to Icahn’s portfolio, at least depending on the outcome of bankruptcy court proceedings currently underway for the property.
Meanwhile, Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has announced expansion plans, including the development of an outdoor entertainment venue to host concerts and festivals and a new, state-of-the-art nightclub.
The casino operator received preliminary determination of eligibility from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to use around $14 million of its “current and future funds on deposit with the CRDA generated from its Investment Alternative Tax payments.”
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to enhance and grow our already tremendous entertainment offerings through funding by the CRDA and a wonderful partnership with Live Nation,” Borgata President and CEO Tom Ballance said in a statement. “Upon our entry into the market in 2003, Borgata set the bar for entertainment and nightlife in Atlantic City, so it is only appropriate that we raise it yet again with the addition of these two substantial projects.”
On a far lighter note, CRDA—the state agency overseeing Atlantic City tourism and redevelopment projects—also announced that an Arena Football League game between the Philadelphia Soul and the Las Vegas Outlaws will played at the Boardwalk Hall in May.
The CRDA also said that it had approved a subsidy agreement with the Soul, providing up to $80,000 in subsidies to the team in the event the game sells less than 3,000 tickets.
Philadelphia Soul principal owner Ron Jaworski, who also works as an NFL analyst for ESPN, told the Press of Atlantic City last year that the game against the Outlaws could be turned into a full-fledged entertainment event. A concert could be part of those plans, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that the Outlaws are owned by Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil.
