Revenue swoons in June at Atlantic City casinos, faces competition from neighbors’ table games

Atlantic City casino revenue takes a June swoon

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — June was Atlantic City’s last chance to post a good financial performance from its 11 casinos while offering something its main competitor didn’t: table games. But that chance went by the boards.

Revenue for the nation’s second-largest gambling market fell more than 11 percent in June, to $286.8 million.

And now Atlantic City is virtually surrounded by table games: Pennsylvania started offering them on Thursday, a few weeks after Delaware did likewise.

Analysts say the stepped-up competition could cost Atlantic City about a quarter of its annual table games revenue, or about $300 million a year.

It was the Pennsylvania slots parlors that began Atlantic City’s revenue plunge in late 2006.

Soon, Pennsylvania will have nine casinos offering the same gambling options as Atlantic City — but much closer to home for Pennsylvania players, who have been a big part of Atlantic City’s clientele.

Table games revenue for Atlantic City fell 16.2 percent last month to $79.9 million. Slot revenue fell 9 percent to $206.9 million.

Only one of the city’s 11 casinos posted a revenue increase, and it was minuscule. Trump Marina Hotel Casino, one of the city’s most struggling casinos, edged up 1.3 percent.

Resorts Atlantic City, which turned itself over to its lenders in December when it could no longer pay its mortgage, posted the biggest drop, nearly 20 percent. Caesars Atlantic City’s revenue sank 17.8 percent, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort dropped 13.5 percent, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino fell 13.2 percent, and Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City fell 13 percent.

The Showboat Casino Hotel skidded 12.4 percent, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, usually the city’s dominant casino, fell 11.7 percent, and the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort, which hasn’t paid its own mortgage in a year and is trying to work out a deal with its lenders, slid 7.7 percent.

The Tropicana Casino and Resort, rebounding after its purchase by billionaire Carl Icahn, fell 5.9 percent and Bally’s Atlantic City slipped 3.2 percent.