Atlantic City saw a major downsizing in 2014 as four of its casinos closed, but still came through the year with .74 billion in casino revenue.
That reflects a 4.5 percent decline from 2013 when the casinos made $2.87 billion from slot machines, table games and Internet gambling last year and marks the eighth straight year casino revenue has declined in the resort. The figures released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement mark the lowest revenue total for the city’s casinos since 1988. Revenue peaked at $5.2 billion in 2006.
Atlantic City saw the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza casinos all close in 2014. Given that, many analysts expected far worse numbers than a 4.5 percent decline.
But five of the city’s eight remaining casinos had revenue gains for the year. The other three posted revenue losses ranging from 1.7 percent—Caesars—to 16.9 percent for the struggling Trump Taj Mahal.
Golden Nugget Atlantic City, Tropicana Casino and Resort and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa all posted double-digit revenue gains for the year. Borgata, the city’s leading casino, took in $687.3 million in total revenue for 2014, up nearly 11 percent. Tropicana saw a 30 percent increase to $297.2 million.
Golden Nugget had the biggest percentage growth with a 48 percent increase in revenue to $185.6 million. The casino has been one of the most aggressive in courting former customers of closed properties.
Still, the numbers remained bleak for the Trump Taj Mahal casino resort, which saw revenue fall 17 percent to about $215.9 million. The casino has been waging a very public fight to stay afloat through a bankruptcy procedure.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who owns $286 million of the casino’s debt, has planned to take over the casino and invest heavily in it, but he has become embroiled in a bitter fight with the city’s main casino union. The casino is still open, however, while negotiations continue under another loan from Icahn.
As bad as 2014 was for the city, some officials took hope from the numbers.
Matthew Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said that the casinos that remained open had a “healthy” 8 percent increase in combined revenue for 2014 and more than 9 percent growth in December.
“The closure of four casinos last year was a traumatic contraction of the industry, but it clearly has left us with a casino industry that is better positioned for growth in the future,” Levinson said in a press release.
Total internet revenue for online gambling was about $122.9 million for the year. Slot revenue finished the year at $1.87 billion down 9 percent. At able games, the casinos took in a total of $744.5 million, down nearly 7 percent.
Total revenue for Atlantic City casinos in millions
Borgata $687.2 +10.7 percent
Harrah’s $365.3 +2.5
Caesars $330.6 -1.7
Tropicana $297.2 +29.9
Bally’s $224.8 -8
Trump Taj Mahal $215.8 -16.9
Golden Nugget $185.5 +48.4
Resorts $139.3 +6.6
Showboat $110.5 closed Aug. 31
Revel $98.1 closed Sept. 2
Trump Plaza $45.4 closed Sept. 16
Atlantic Club $3.9 closed Jan. 13
