Atlantic City casino revenue drops 9.4%

Revenue for the 11 casinos in Atlantic City decreased 9.4 percent in January from the same month a year ago.

The casinos generated $321.4 million in total gambling revenue, according to figures released yesterday by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which regulates the Atlantic City gaming market.

Nearly 66 percent, or $211.6 million, came from slot machines. The remainder, $109.8 million, came from table games.

While Atlantic City traditionally sees less business in the slower winter months, the impact of slots competition from Pennsylvania and New York is clear.

By comparison, the seven slots parlors in Pennsylvania, including two in the Philadelphia suburbs, generated $132.3 million last month. PhiladelphiaPark led with $29 million in gross slots revenue.

The six Pennsylvania casinos that were open for the last two years reported a 6.7 percent year-over-year revenue increase. The seventh slots parlor, Penn National Race Course near Grantville, opened in February 2008.

"Certainly, each Pennsylvania casino has challenges within the framework of the current recession, so the continued growth is encouraging," Doug Harbach, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, said yesterday.

Pennsylvania has a 55 percent tax on gross slots revenue, money collected by the government and used for property-tax relief, larger horseracing purses, local and county budgets, and funding for expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

New Jersey's take is significantly less. The state has a 9.25 percent tax on gross gambling revenue, most of which goes into the Casino Revenue Fund, which pays for programs that benefit qualifying senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Six of the 11 casinos in Atlantic City are in or facing bankruptcy, including Resorts and the three Trump casinos, as revenue continues to shrink.

Resorts reported the largest revenue decline in January, 25.4 percent, followed by Showboat at 21.8 percent and Trump Plaza at 21.3 percent.

Last month, the lender for Resorts, Column Financial - a subsidiary of Credit Suisse - threatened to take over the casino after it missed its last three mortgage payments.

The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa continued its market dominance, taking in $58.2 million last month, despite a 4.5 decrease in revenue from a year ago. It was followed by the Trump Taj Mahal, which reported $42 million, and Bally's with $37.6 million.

Only the Taj Mahal reported a revenue increase, gaining 9.8 percent.

Slots revenue decreased 9.6 percent, almost parallel to the 9.1 percent drop in table-games revenue.