For the last full month of eight casinos operating in the Atlantic City market, casino revenue dipped 1.5 percent in September.
According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the casinos took in $210.4 million for the month, down 3.5 percent from a year ago. Slot machines accounted for $147 million, while table games brought in $63.4 million.
The losses were offset by another strong month for online gaming, which took in $16.2 million compared with $12 million in September 2015, a 35 percent increase.
Four of the city’s casinos posted increases for the month. Resorts was up 10.6 percent to $16.8 million. The Golden Nugget was up 9.5 percent to $21.5 million; the Tropicana was up 8.1 percent to $29.2 million, and the Borgata was up 2 percent to $67.6 million, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
Four casinos posted declines. The Trump Taj Mahal, which spent the month preparing for its October 10 shutdown, was down 51.2 percent to $8.1 million in September, compared to the $16.6 million it won in September 2015.
Harrah’s was down 8.3 percent to $28.9 million; Caesars was down 3.9 percent to $29.8 million, and Bally’s was down 3.6 percent to $18.1 million, according to the AP.
Matt Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said in a release that casino business was hurt by uncertain weather in the resort for the month, including threatening weather over the crucial Labor Day weekend.
“September was a month marked by a threatened hurricane, a state of emergency, and two cancelled beach concerts over the long Labor Day weekend and the winding down of operations at the Trump Taj Mahal,” he said. “Despite all of those obstacles, half of the casinos reported increases for the month.”
In online gambling, the Golden Nugget casino topped the market for the first time winning $3.6 million online, compared with $3.3 million for the Borgata, $3.2 million for Caesars Interactive-NJ, $3 million for the Tropicana, and $2.9 million for Resorts Digital. The Golden Nugget and Tropicana online sites offer only online casinos games and do not offer online poker.
For the first nine months of this year, Atlantic City’s casinos have seen their revenue increase by 1.6 percent. Internet gambling revenue is up nearly 33 percent over that same period, the AP said.
