Atlantic City casinos have enjoyed their second consecutive year of increased revenue in 2017. This is according to the 2017 report released by New Jersey’s gaming officials. The report showed that Atlantic City casinos enjoyed more revenue in 2017, compared to 2016, even though there was a slight dip in December. This is obviously great news for all Atlantic City Casinos, who will now be looking to make 2018 an even better year.
Atlantic City Casinos saw their second consecutive year of increased revenue in 2017, marking the first time this has happened since 2006.
Atlantic City Casinos Bring in more Cash
In 2017, there were seven active Atlantic City casinos. These seven casinos brought in $2.41 billion, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. This figured increased when compared to 2016, by 0.3%. This is the second year in a row that Atlantic City casinos have increased their revenue, and this is the first time this has happened since 2006.
The new chairperson of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, James Plousis, said that this showed that Atlantic City casinos have stabilized after the 2008 financial crisis and the years that followed, which saw five of the city’s 12 casinos close down. He added that every casino in Atlantic City made a profit and every casino improved over its 2016 revenue figures. Internet gambling also helped considerably, bringing in $245 million, an increase of nearly 25% over 2016.
Atlantic City Casinos Could face Tougher 2018
The top-performing Atlantic City casino was the Borgata, which brought in $800 million and increased its revenue by 4.4% over 2016. The Tropicana is in second place with $390 million and an increase of 14.6% over the previous year. Harrah’s is in third with $363 million, although it only increased its revenue by 1.6%. Bally’s almost broke the winning streak, but it did increase its revenue by 0.1% to $211 million. Even the Resorts Casino Hotel, which only opened its doors in 2015, made $190 million. This is a 10% increase over 2016.
The big question is what will happen in 2018? Obviously, all the Atlantic City casinos want to continue to grow and make for the third year of increased gambling revenue. However, 2018 promises to be a more difficult year for the seven casinos currently operating, as there will be another two casinos reopening this year.
The Trump Taj Mahal, which will reopen as the Hard Rock Atlantic City, and Revel, renamed to Ocean Resort Casino, are both scheduled to open in summer 2018. Some think this extra competition is a good thing and won’t affect the revenue of the existing casinos. However, others are less optimistic and think that the two new casinos could put serious pressure on the revenues of the current casinos.
