Despite some encouraging numbers from online gambling, Atlantic City’s eight remaining casinos saw a three percent decline in revenue for April.
But when revenue for three casinos that shut down in 2014—but were operating in April 2014—are added, the overall revenue for the city was down 16 percent.
The bright spot was online gambling which had revenue of $12.6 million for the month, up 11 percent compared to a year ago. For the year, New Jersey’s online gambling revenue is nearly $48 million, an increase of nearly 19 percent compared to the first four months of last year.
Atlantic City’s eight land-based casinos brought in $199 million for the month according to the state Division of Gambling Enforcement.
Still, four casinos reported increases last month compared to April 2014. The Golden Nugget casino remains the city’s biggest gainer, as its revenue rose by nearly 30 percent to $17.6 million. The biggest decline was at Caesars, which was down nearly 34 percent to $22.5 million.
Matt Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said the monthly decline is a statistical fluke due to Caesars having an unusually successful April in 2014 and returning to more normal levels this April.
“Don’t be thrown off by these results,” Levinson said in a press release. “When you look at the first four months of this year, revenues are still running 3.5 percent above last year’s levels.”
Including online and in-person gambling, Harrah’s reported a 17.7 percent increase last month, to $29.3 million; Resorts was up 15.5 percent to $12.3 million; and the Tropicana was up 5.1 percent to $25.2 million.
The Trump Taj Mahal, which is still mired in a bankruptcy proceeding, was down 11.6 percent to $15.5 million. Bally’s was down 3.5 million to $16.1 million, and the Borgata was down 2.9 percent to $57.5 million.
Caesars Interactive NJ, the company’s online gambling arm, was down 19.8 percent in April to $2.4 million.
Atlantic City’s eight casinos have won nearly $779 million through the first four months of the year, up 3.5 percent from a year ago. But when the four casinos that closed last year—The Atlantic Club (which closed in January 2014), Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza—are included, the city’s overall casino revenue is down 11 percent.
