After years of struggle, it seems the casinos of Atlantic City are finally on an upward trend. One official associated with the gaming industry has now stated that the casinos of the gambling city are showing positive signs of growth.
Profit figures for the remaining seven casinos of Atlantic City are up 30.4% for the first quarter of this year when compared to last year. Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, Matt Levinson, commented after the recent figures were released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement that casinos of AC are healthy again.
In his statement, according to Philly.com, Levinson said that if there were any doubt in regards to the health of the casino industry within Atlantic City, the results of the first quarter should put the doubt to rest. Levinson stated that it is clear to him that the industry has stabilized and operators are showing healthier bottom lines. The Chairman reportedly feels that with the summer months, the industry should only continue to grow as there will be several concerts, festivals and other events taking place that will only further profit margins.
When breaking down the profits based on venue, the Borgata Casino showed the highest numbers as far as operating profit is concerned with $61.4m in earnings. When compared to the first few months of 2016, this is a profit of almost 29%. Harrah’s was able to earn $23.7m for the quarter which is an 11.3% decrease from 2016. Caesars showed improvement from last year, with 31.6% of increased earnings with just over $20m earned during the first quarter.
Tropicana saw a great increase when compared to 2016. Last year, the operator earned $7.3m for the first quarter and for this year, earned quite a bit more with $16.2m in earnings this year. The Golden Nugget Casino saw a decrease, with close to $6.2m earnings, a drop of around 7.7%. Bally’s was down just over 19% compared to last year with $4.5m in earnings. Resorts was up with $4m in earnings, an increase of almost 10x when compared to the same time frame in 2016.