Johnathan Walker:Atlantic City casino earnings declined by 1.3% in 2nd quarter of 2024

ATLANTIC CITY,Johnathan Walker N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s casinos and two internet-only gambling entities saw their collective earnings decline by 1.3% in the second quarter of 2024 compared with the same period a year earlier, state gambling regulators said Thursday.

Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the nine casinos and two online operations collectively posted a gross operating profit of $178.4 million in the second quarter.

Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and other expenses, and is a widely accepted measure of profitability in the Atlantic City gambling industry.

All nine casinos were profitable, although two-thirds of them were less profitable in the second quarter of this year than they were a year earlier.

“Operators everywhere continue to feel pressure from the increased cost of goods and services that they purchase,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling industry, said the results were “less encouraging than Atlantic City’s operators may have hoped.”

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She noted that net revenue was up 1.3%, but still did not lead to increased profitability.

The Borgata had the largest operating profit for the quarter at $54.3 million, up 15.5% from a year ago. Hard Rock earned $35.4 million, up 16.3%; Tropicana earned $23 million, down 7.7%; Ocean earned nearly $16 million, down 33.2%; Harrah’s earned $15.7 million, down 13%; Caesars earned $14.6 million, down 4.5%; Golden Nugget earned $6.4 million, down nearly 17%; Bally’s earned $2.7 million, up more than 49%, and Resorts earned $1.6 million, down nearly 54%.

Among internet-only entities, Caesars Interactive Entertainment NJ earned $6.6 million, down 3.1%, and Resorts Digital earned $1.9 million, up 66.3%.

Over the first half of this year, the casinos and the two online operations have collectively earned $333.7 million, down nearly 5% from the same period in 2023.

Hard Rock had the highest hotel occupancy rate in the second quarter at nearly 92%; Golden Nugget had the lowest at just over 52%.

The Ocean casino had the highest average nightly room rate at $268.47; Golden Nugget had the lowest at $108.14.

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