Casinos' revenues fall in A.C.

Atlantic City's misery continued last month as the city's gambling halls saw a 19.2 decline in revenue compared with a year ago - the largest year-over-year decline in Atlantic City's nearly 31-year history of gambling.

At the same time, gross slots revenue for six of seven Pennsylvania casinos that were in operation for the last year rose slightly more than 14 percent in February to $125.9 million.

Atlantic City's 11 casinos took in $310.3 million last month, down from $384.1 million a year ago, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission said yesterday. The precipitous decline comes as five of the casinos are in or near bankruptcy.

"These [numbers] are downright scary for anybody who has a stake in this industry, which includes to a large extent, all of Atlantic County and filtering right through the State of New Jersey," said Joseph Weinert, an analyst with Spectrum Gaming Group L.L.C. of Linwood, N.J.

"A bad economy, plus a bad calendar [with one less business day than in February 2008], plus bad luck at the tables equaled a really bad month for Atlantic City," he said. "We are not expecting a meaningful improvement until at least the economy improves, and when that will be is anybody's guess."

An especially troubling aspect is that table-games revenue dropped at a rate faster than slots revenue for only the second month in more than two years. Table-games revenue decreased 19.7 percent while slots' revenue fell 19 percent last month.

Dealer-staffed table games are an attraction that Atlantic City's casinos have over Pennsylvania slot parlors, which offer only electronic table games.

Analysts attribute the growth of Pennsylvania's gambling industry to a couple of factors: It is still in its infancy and hasn't penetrated to its potential; and aggressive marketing, particularly the strategic use of free slot play credits by gaming operators, is attractive to day-trip gamblers.

While such factors have benefited regional gaming markets, such as Pennsylvania, major markets like Atlantic City and Las Vegas have suffered in the recession.

The two suburban Philadelphia slots parlors - which attract a number of Atlantic City customers - continued to dominate among the seven Pennsylvania facilities. Philadelphia Park Casino & Racetrack took in $30.4 million in slots revenue, followed by Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack with $28 million.

The top three revenue producers in Atlantic City last month were Borgata at $57.3 million in revenue, Bally's at $38.5 million, and Harrah's Resort with $37 million. But all three were down from last year - including 20 percent at Bally's.

"Clearly, the economy continues to take its toll on the gaming industry here," said New Jersey Casino Control Commission spokesman Dan Heneghan. "That and competition right across our border have combined to depress casino revenues for some time now."