Tuesday, 20 January 2015 00:20
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Philadelphia (Reuters) - Gambling revenue at Atlantic City’s casinos declined 4.5% in 2014 to $ 2.74 billion, a better-than-expected result during a year in which four casinos closed.
“It’s an absolutely remarkable result for a year that saw so much tumult in the gaming market,” said executive director Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton College, Israel Posner.
Four casinos in Atlantic City closed in 2014. A fifth, Trump Entertainment’s Taj Mahal, narrowly averted closing and remains in bankruptcy. Caesars Entertainment Corp, the owner of three other casinos in Atlantic City, has said its operating unit would file for bankruptcy on Thursday.
Gaming revenue in Atlantic City has fallen by nearly half after peaking at $ 5.2 billion in 2006, a decline that analysts attribute to the rise of casinos in nearby states.
Despite the overall decline, five of the remaining eight casinos posted revenue gains, with the Golden Nugget posting growth of 48.4%.
General manager of The Golden Nugget, Tom Pohlman attributed his property’s success to a $ 150 capital renovation completed in 2012, and said other properties that have made capital improvements saw gains.
Revenue from Internet gaming in the city, which is accessible only to customers physically located in New Jersey, stood at $ 122 million in the first full year of the program’s existence.
Three others, Taj Mahal, Bally’s and Caesar’s, posted declines.
