Atlantic City Casino Revenue Down 13.6% In June
11 Luglio 2009 - 12:11AM
Dow Jones News
Atlantic City's painful losing streak continues as its casinos
reported revenue of $322.7 million in June, a 13.6% decrease over
the same month a year ago, said the New Jersey Casino Control
Commission Friday.
The numbers, while somewhat better than May's 15.4% drop, extend
a downward trend for the gambling haven's 11 casinos, which have
struggled to remain competitive amid a recession and mass defection
of gamblers to newer slot parlors in Pennsylvania and New York. A
new casino in Bethlehem, Pa., by gaming giant Las Vegas Sands (LVS)
is shaping up to be a major threat to the island town given it's
less than 100 miles away from New York City.
For the first six months of the year, Atlantic City casinos
generated $1.94 billion in revenue, down 15.3% from the same period
in 2008. Atlantic City industry suffered a 24.6% drop in gross
operating profits in 2008.
Borgata Hotel and Casino, jointly owned by Boyd Gaming Corp.
(BYD) and MGM Mirage (MGM), had the smallest decline as its casino
revenue decreased 4.2% to $57.8 million in June compared to the
same period last year. Meanwhile, the biggest decline continued to
be at the Atlantic City Hilton, which saw revenue drop 24% to $15
million last month.
-By A.D. Pruitt, Dow Jones Newswires,
212-416-2197,angela.pruitt@dowjones.com