Operator News

US – Four casinos now outperforming pre-pandemic earnings in Atlantic City

By Phil - 18 October 2023

Online gaming revenue and sports betting reached close to their personal bests in New Jersey in September, helping drive gambling spend on the East Coast up by 7.5 per cent year-on-year, to $521.5m.

The good news was boosted further by the fact that in-person gambling spend was higher this September at $246m than it was in September 2019 at $224m and that four of Atlantic City’s nine casinos were operating at better levels than before the pandemic.

Caesars, Hard Rock, Ocean and Resorts all generated better in-person revenue last month than they did in September 2019. Whilst not hitting revenues from three years ago yet, Borgata led the market with $54.2m in September, a fall of 13 per cent from September 2022. Hard Rock’s GGR increased by 7.3 per cent to reach $46.8m. Ocean saw a massive spike of 29 per cent to hit $39.5m whilst fourth placed Harrah’s came in with $22.2m, a fall of 4.3 per cent.

Tropicana generated $21.4m, up 8.2 per cent, as did Caesars although that figure was down 4.5 per cent. Resorts fell 10.7 per cent to $14.9m, Bally’s fell 17.3 per cent to $13.1m whilst the Golden Nugget decreased 6.1 per cent to $12.6m.

Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at New Jersey’s Stockton University, said: “In the years since the pandemic, a lot more has changed than an individual’s willingness to come out and gamble in public. Beyond the direct impact of the pandemic itself, casinos were faced with other challenges like inflation, gas prices, changes in consumer behavior and the expansion of new gaming products.”

Online gaming revenue came in at $163.8m, up 21.1 per cent from last year whilst sports betting surged by 13.4 per cent to reach $111.1m.