With three of Atlantic City’s weakest performing casinos closed, the remaining eight resort casinos saw their profits increase for the third quarter.
Revenue from online gaming, which reached its first anniversary in the state this month, also helped pump up profits.
The city’s casinos reported a gross operating profit of $147.5 million in July, August and September, up 7.2 percent from the same period a year ago. But those numbers are compared to figures when four now-closed casinos were operating in 2013.
The eight casinos still operating posted a gross operating profit of $152.3 million in the third quarter, an increase of 3.4 percent.
Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and other charges, and is a widely accepted indicator of profitability in the casino industry.
The figures also reflect the influx of about $10 million a month in revenue from online gambling, which began in mid-November of 2013.
Two of the resort’s weakest casinos—The Revel and Atlantic Club—which had major losses in 2013 have now closed.
In the third quarter of 2013, Revel posted an operating loss of $23.5 million. The casino closed Sept. 2 and only posted a $2.4 million loss for the quarter.
The Atlantic Club posted a $1.7 million operating loss in the third quarter of 2013. That casino closed in January.
Resorts Casino Hotel had the biggest jump in profit at $4.9 million, up nearly 600 percent from the $708,000 it earned in the third quarter of last year. The Golden Nugget Atlantic City also saw a big jump with an operating profit of $5.6 million, up 165 percent from the $2.1 million it earned in the third quarter of last year.
The Taj Mahal casino—which could close Dec. 12—posted the largest decline in operating profit at $5.7 million, down 39 percent from $9.4 million in the third quarter of last year. Trump Plaza, which closed on Sept. 16, posted a quarterly operating loss of $5.6 million.
Bally’s, Caesars and Harrah’s — the three remaining Atlantic City casinos owned by debt-laden Caesars Entertainment — also saw their operating profits decline in the third quarter.
Ironically, the Showboat casino—which Caesars closed on August 31 to help its other casinos—posted a $3.3 million operating profit for the quarter. Still, in 2013, Showboat posted $14.5 million in operating profit for the quarter.
For the first nine months of the year, the eight casinos currently in business posted an operating profit of $319 million, down 1.5 percent from the same period last year.
Revenue figures for October, also released by the state, showed a 4.4 percent drop in overall revenue for the eight remaining casinos at $207 million over 2013. But if the closed casinos are factored out, the remaining casinos saw a 19 percent increase in revenue for the month.
