A strike at Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal casino—which eventually closed—brought down third quarter gross operating profits for the resort’s casinos more than 10 percent.
The Taj Mahal, however, was the only Atlantic City casino to post a loss for the quarter. The eight casinos that operated during the third quarter posted a gross operating profit of $212 million, down 10.6 percent from the third quarter of 2015, according to figures released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Despite the Taj’s troubles, Atlantic City casinos have posted a 4.4 percent increase in operating profit through the first nine months of 2016.
Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and other charges, and is an accepted measure of profitability in the Atlantic City casino industry.
Members of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union went on strike at the Taj Mahal on July 1. The union and casino owner Carl Icahn have been battling over healthcare for workers for nearly two years. Unable to settle the issue, that casino closed on October 10.
For the third quarter, the Taj Mahal posted a $5.5 million operating loss, compared with an operating profit of $16.2 million in the third quarter of 2015, according to the Associated Press.
Caesars Entertainment properties in the resort saw declines in profits, but remained profitable for the quarter. Bally’s was at $16.4 million, down 22.5 percent, Harrah’s made $37.4 million, down 10.8 percent and Caesars was at $29.4 million, down 9.4 percent.
Resorts casino saw profits rise by 21.3 percent to $10.7 million; the Golden Nugget was up 21 percent to $11 million; the Tropicana was up 6.1 percent to $27.6 million, and the Borgata was up 0.1 percent to $82.1 million, according to an analysis by the AP.
For online-only companies, Caesars Interactive-NJ was up nearly 59 percent to $2.3 million, and Resorts Digital posted an operating profit of $570,000, compared to an operating loss of $1.9 million in the third quarter of 2015.
For the first nine months of this year, the casinos’ collective operating profit is $470 million, up 4.4 percent from 2015.
