Atlantic City’s overall casino revenue was down 2.7 percent for July even though figures for the city’s remaining casinos saw a revenue bump compared to 2016.
Despite the dip, another report by state regulators showed profits were also up substantially for the remaining casinos in the first six months of this year.
The July decline came as revenue brought in by the now closed Trump Taj Mahal in July 2016 was not completely offset at the remaining casinos. The Taj Mahal closed in October 2016.
The seven surviving casinos made $267.9 in July, down 2.7 percent from $275.3 in July 2016.
However, online gambling for the resort was up 18.5 percent for the month, helping to close the gap. The state took in about $20.6 million from online gaming for the month. The state’s online industry is dominated by slots and casino games, but online poker did bring in more than $2 million for the month, down slightly from 2016.
Total online revenue also passed the $600 million mark since online gaming was launched in 2013. New Jersey has collected about $108 million in taxes on that revenue.
Without the Taj Mahal, the city’s remaining casinos saw a 3.9 percent increase in revenue, though not all of the seven casinos saw revenue increases, according to an analysis of figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement by the Associated Press.
“It is clear that business is building for the seven operating casinos and I am optimistic it will continue to grow in the months ahead,” said Matthew Levinson, chairman of the Casino Control Commission in a prepared statement. Levinson also pointed out that July 2017 had one less weekend day than July 2016.
Among city casinos, Resorts saw the biggest percentage increase, up 14.4 percent to $20.4 million. The Tropicana saw a nearly 13 percent increase to $37.5 million.
The Borgata continued to lead the market with $76.3 million, down from $80.3 million in July 2016. The Golden Nugget also saw a 2.6 percent decrease to $20.8 million, while Bally’s, Caesars and Harrah’s were slightly up, according to the AP.
The Golden Nugget continued to lead the state’s online industry, up nearly 69 percent to $6.2 million. Caesars Interactive-NJ brought in $3.2 million, down 5.4 percent from 2016 and Resorts Digital took in $3.8 million from online play, up 22.9 percent.
The casino’s revenue for the year through July was $1.417 billion, a 0.5 percent increase over 2016.
Profits for the casinos, however, was up about 16 percent in the first six months of this year, according to another report from the Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The seven casinos reported a collective second-quarter profit of $169.3 million, compared with $145.7 million for the same period last year.
“For three consecutive quarters now, the current operators reported double-digit growth in gross operating profits. They must be doing something right,” CCC Chairman Levinson said in another release. “Revenue, occupancy rates and profits all increased, and with everything else that’s going on or going up in Atlantic City right now I think the industry’s future looks a little bit brighter every day.”
The report showed gross operating profits for the year are up 19.1 percent to $308.6 million over the same period last year.
Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and other charges. It’s a widely accepted measure of profitability in the gambling industry.
The Tropicana reported the biggest increase, up 105 percent in the second quarter to $35 million, compared with the same period last year. Resorts reported profits of $9.5 million, up 63 percent; Golden Nugget posted a profit of nearly $17 million, an increase of 27 percent; Caesars saw a profit of $45.6 million, up 25 percent; and Borgata was up to $129 million, or up about 22 percent, the AP reported.
Bally’s reported nearly $16 million in profits, down 5.8 percent from last year. Harrah’s profits were down 13 percent to $50 million.
