Atlantic City Revenues Continue to Fall

While Las Vegas and Macau continue to thrive, Atlantic City continues to see its casino gambling revenues fall in the face of increased competition from nearby states. Revenues from gambling fell to $340.3 million in July, a 6.5% decrease when compared to the same period in 2010.

Overall, gambling revenues are down 6.9% over the first seven months of 2011 when compared to 2010. This is on top of large losses that have already been sustained by the struggling city. Since hitting a peak of $5.2 billion in 2006, gambling revenues have quickly fallen for Atlantic City’s 11 casinos, with just $3.57 billion coming in during 2010. That’s a revenue loss of nearly 32% in just 4 years.

Compared to last year, most of the losses for the casinos have come in table game revenues, which dropped 15% compared to last July. Meanwhile, slots revenues were down just 3%.

This may be due to how gambling has expanded in Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and other nearby locations. While many of these locations have had slot machines available for several years now, many casinos in these areas have recently added a variety of table games that may be drawing even more gamblers who previously traveled to Atlantic City to play blackjack, poker or other games.

The falling gambling revenues have been a point of emphasis for the New Jersey government, which is hoping to revitalize what was once a gambling destination that rivaled Las Vegas in popularity. Various initiatives have been taken to help improve Atlantic City’s infrastructure, and regulations on the operation and construction of casinos and hotels have been loosened in an attempt to attract new operators to the city.