Atlantic City Casinos See Revenue Climb in May

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 06/29/2024

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Atlantic City Casinos See Revenue Climb

According to reports, Atlantic City’s summer season enjoyed a strong start, indicating that there could be promising times ahead for the area. It was recently reported that the city’s nine brick-and-mortar casinos collectively raked in $239.1 million in gross gaming revenue, equating to a solid 5.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The growth was driven by impressive performances across various sectors of the casino industry. Revenue from retail slot machines saw a 4.8 percent boost, totaling $181.2 million, while table game earnings soared by 6.4 percent to reach $57.9 million.

The city’s iGaming platforms also saw improvement, with online slots, table games, and poker generating $192 million. This marked a 19 percent improvement year-on-year. However, sports betting revenues were the sole category to experience a decline, dropping 4.2 percent to $78.7 million.

A Positive Trend for the Summer Months

Data showed that the combined GGR for the state was nearly $510 million in May 2024, which reflects an 8.3 percent increase from the previous year. Many believe that this surge suggests a positive trend for the region as it heads into the peak summer months.

With schools breaking up for vacation and families flocking to the beach, tourism is expected to increase over the coming months. This could further boost casino revenues over the course of the summer.

Despite these recent gains, industry analysts have said that Atlantic City’s casinos continue to face challenging operational conditions. Rising expenses, including inflationary pressures on goods and wages, pose huge issues for many casinos. This has been an ongoing problem for some time and has had a huge negative impact on Atlantic City casinos as well as casinos in other states around the country.

Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism, said:

While revenues increased, so have expenses, and while revenues for the month and year-to-date compare favorably to prior periods, they may not translate into similar increases in gross operating profit down the line.

This means that, although revenue figures for May and year-to-date showed encouraging growth, there are concerns among stakeholders over sustained profitability.

Borgata a Dominant Player in Atlantic City Market

MGM Resorts’ Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa emerged as the dominant player during this period, reinforcing its position as Atlantic City’s top-performing casino.

The casino resort reported a total revenue of around $110.9 million in May. This included $61.4 million from its physical casino operations, $43.9 million from its iGaming, and $5.6 million from sports betting activities.

Following Borgata, Resorts Casino Hotel secured second position with a combined GGR of $84.9 million. The majority of Resorts’ earnings came from its online gaming platforms and sports betting ventures, amounting to $71.4 million.

Among the other casinos in the area, Hard Rock came in at third place with $49.9 million in GGR. Ocean followed with $32 million in GGR, and Tropicana came in at fifth place with $20.1 million. Harrah’s, Caesars, Resorts, Golden Nugget, and Bally’s reported varying levels of GGR.