Pennsylvania Surpasses Atlantic City in Monthly Gambling Revenues

The last few years haven’t been kind to the Atlantic City gambling industry, which has seen a dramatic fall-off in casino revenues. Now, it appears that one of the city’s closest competitors may be passing it by to become the second largest gambling market in the United States.

In November, the state of Pennsylvania saw its casinos and gambling halls bring in $245.8 million in revenue. For the first time ever, that was enough to surpass Atlantic City, which brought in $245.1 million for the month.

The difference between the two figures is statistically insignificant, and nobody would be surprised if Atlantic City should come out ahead of Pennsylvania in any of the next few months. But the figure does point to the fact that more and more players are leaving Atlantic City for other gambling destinations in the northeastern United States. In addition, many Pennsylvanian residents are likely staying in their home state rather than traveling to the coastal city, causing a steep decline in casino revenues there.

This is old news to the governments of Atlantic City and New Jersey, who have been fighting a rising tide of casino expansion in the surrounding states. In the past two decades, casinos and other gambling venues have been built in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, with new facilities also scheduled to be built in Maryland, Massachusetts and Maine. This, along with the poor economy and a declining reputation, has seen year-over-year revenues plummet for Atlantic City.

While Atlantic City will retain its place as the second-largest gambling hub in the USA for 2011 – it was far ahead of Pennsylvania heading into November – the recent figures suggest this won’t last for long. It is considered likely that Pennsylvania will move into second place in 2012, trailing only Las Vegas, which should maintain its place as the top gambling destination in the United States for the foreseeable future.