July treacherous for Atlantic City Casinos

Casino News - August 11th, 2009 - Written by Glen

Atlantic City has been in financial trouble for months on end, but July was different. No, the region had not seen a positive, but rather they had broken double digits in slipping revenues. While past months had been under 9% drops, the month of July had marked a nearly 13% drop in revenues through the Atlantic City Casinos.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission, the force overseeing the gambling businesses in Atlantic City, released a statement stating that the casinos in AC had generated $383 million for the month. In 2008, $438 million had been brought in. While 12.7% may not sound like much, the full gravity of the situation can really be seen when the figures are put side by side. As their revenues shrink, debt seems to grow, and many Atlantic City casinos are beginning to run out of options.

The year to date figures are not better. So far this year, as of July, the casinos of Atlantic City have dropped 15%, amounting to $406 million that was not brought in compared to the year prior. Of all the Casinos, Trump Marina is generating the least.

Table games had taken the biggest hit, and they have slipped by 13.4%. $134 million was brought in my table games in 2008, while 2009 only saw $116 million. Note that these figures only account for July. Slot gaming, while not as bad, also took a blow to their overall revenue. $304 million came in through 2008, and 2009 only saw $266 million. This was a 12.4% drop, and a drop the industry cannot continue to encounter.

Caesars Atlantic City saw the largest drop on table games, at 26.7%. Six million dollars through those table games alone was left out from this years financial generation. Bally's AC, on the other hand, saw the biggest decline on slots, beating Trump Plaza's 21.5% with their 23.2%.

Despite the weathering finances, certain investors are looking at buying out Atlantic City casinos. Amongst these investors is Donald Trump himself, and it has been reported that he is attempting to once again endeavor to try his hand at the Atlantic City casino market.

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