Casinos in Atlantic City down 8% in April

Casinos in Atlantic City down 8% in April The combined revenue of the 11 Atlantic City casinos fail yet again, this time 8% in April, compared to the same month last year. The combined revenue number in April was $365.5 million, slot machines again leading the pack in both profitability at $259.3 million and at decline - down 8.8% from April 2007, while table games revenue was $106.2 million or 5.5% less than last April. Out of the 11 Atlantic City casinos, only Harrah's Resort and Casino posted increased profit of 2.7% to $43.3 million. The Showboat Casino Hotel was the biggest loser among the NJ casinos with a decline in revenues of 18.2%. Overall, for the first four months of the year, the Atlantic City casinos won $1.5 billion, down 6.7 percent from the same period in 2007.

The usual suspect to blame for the declining revenues of the casinos - out-of-state competition and smoking restrictions - were joined be the newest factor in brick and mortar gambling in the United States - the slowing economy and the record-breaking gas prices. "I wish I had more optimistic things to say. As gas prices continue to creep up, oil went over $126 a barrel today - I don't know if there's any light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon," Scott Barber, Harrah's senior vice president and general manager, was quoted.

Published on 05/10/2008