Atlantic City Gaming Revenue Falls 5.8% in September

According to figures released by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, Atlantic City casinos posted revenues, or “win,” of $335.4 million in September, representing a drop of 5.8% year over year.

A total of $231.8 million was generated from slot machines last month and another $103.5 million came from gamblers staked out at table games, representing declines of 5.2% and 6.9%, respectively, compared to September of 2008. The Atlantic City Hilton posted total casino win of $15.66 million in September, a drop of 16.3% from the $18.72 million posted last year. Bally’s, meanwhile, suffered a similar fate, as revenues of $39.69 million in September meant that win had fallen by 13.3% year over year.

The Borgata, home of the annual World Poker Tour (WPT) Borgata Poker Open, posted total casino win of $63.14 million in September, the month in which it hosted the annual high-stakes tournament. That sum meant that Borgata revenues had actually grown year over year by 6.0% from the $59.57 million generated in September of 2008. At Caesars Atlantic City, which will host a World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event in March, overall revenues were $39.52 million, a slide of 6.3% from the $42.16 million posted last year.

At Harrah’s Marina, win in September totaled $43.68 million, representing an increase of 3.1% from the $42.38 million raked in last year. Also coming out in the black was Resorts, one of Atlantic City’s smaller properties, which posted revenues of $16.37 million in September, a gain of 3.9% compared to the same period in 2008. The final property listed by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission that posted a gain year over year was Tropicana, which saw a modest rise of 1.0% to $26.68 million.

Besides the Atlantic City Hilton and Bally’s, four other casinos posted double-digit slides in revenue in September. At Showboat, gamblers dried up, as the gaming establishment posted a win of $26.02 million, a 13.6% dip from the $30.13 million posted in 2008. The three Trump properties each saw sizable hits as well, as Trump Marina’s revenues dove by 14.2% in September to $13.13 million. At Trump Plaza, total casino win in September was $15.54 million, down 16.5% from the $18.60 million posted in September of 2008. Finally, Trump Taj Mahal posted revenues of $35.98 million, a drop of 12.4% from the $41.09 million generated last year.

Year-to-date through the end of September, each of Atlantic City’s 11 gaming properties has posted losses compared to the same period in 2008, manifesting the impact of the severe global recession. Trump Plaza’s 23.8% slide year over year through the end of September represents the greatest loss, while the Borgata’s revenues are off just 4.8% to $540 million in 2009, the largest total of any casino in the New Jersey city. Also posting single-digit losses was Trump Taj Mahal, whose revenues have slid by just 5.0% in 2009 to $345 million.

Casinos paid $23.94 million in taxes to the State of New Jersey in September, representing 8% of gross revenue. The money is deposited into the Casino Revenue Fund, which the Commission explains, “pays for programs that benefit qualifying senior citizens and people with disabilities.” Overall, the 11 Atlantic City casinos combined for $3.05 billion in revenue over the first nine months of 2009, down 14.2% from the $3.55 billion posted in 2008. Table game revenue is off 14.1% year over year, while slot machine win is off 14.2% in a fairly even split.

The news of continued drop in casino gaming revenues on the East Coast coincides with the 20th straight month of decline in win posted in Nevada, where revenues in August dove by 9.32% in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. The last month that Nevada casinos posted a rise in win year over year was December of 2007.

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Poker jargon:

RACE - In tournaments it is sometimes convenient to remove all lower-denomination chips from play, as the remaining players' stacks tend to grow. Small chips are converted to larger chips and any odd chips are "raced off" in the following way: each player with odd chips places them in front of his stack and is dealt one card for each chip. Highest card (rank and suit) takes all the small chips and converts them to higher-denomination chips.
TOKE - Gambling term for "tip", as in "Toke the cocktail waitress". Comes from the term "Token of appreciation".
INSIDE STRAIGHT - Four cards to a straight, where only one rank will complete the hand. E.g., 4-5-6-8 is an inside straight since only a 7 will fill (i.e., complete) the hand. Often called a GUT-SHOT. Compare: BOBTAIL STRAIGHT, OPEN-ENDED STRAIGHT.
SPLIT [THE POT] - To split the pot between two or more players. Related term: QUARTER.
WORLD SERIES OF POKER - A series of several different poker games with relatively large buy-ins, culminating in a $10,000 buy-in no-limit Hold'em tournament, the winner of which is crowned the World Poker Champion. Sponsored by Binion's Horseshoe Club in Las Vegas.
FISH - A player who loses money. An old saying is "If you can't spot the fish at the table, *you* are the fish.".

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