Atlantic City gambling revenue from tables and slots declined 3% in July compared to a year prior, a modest dip considering only three properties came out ahead.
Land-based casinos in Atlantic City generated just shy of $290 million in revenue last month, down from $299 million in July 2022. The city’s nine casinos generated nearly 4.5% more this July than pre-pandemic July 2019, an encouraging sign for the still-recovering brick-and-mortar segment.
James Plousis, chairman of the state Casino Control Commission, highlighted the positives for the industry from the monthly Atlantic City gambling revenue reports. In a prepared statement, Plousis said:
“On the casino floor, slot machine win reached its highest level since August 2013, demonstrating that visitation this summer has been strong. While gamblers won more at the gaming tables compared to last July, casino win was still the second-highest reported figure for July in ten years.”
Year-to-date, Atlantic City casinos have reported more than $1.64 billion from tables and slot machines, putting the industry 2.3% ahead of last year’s results through July.
Breaking down top-tier Atlantic City casino revenue from July ’23
Bally’s Atlantic City and Borgata Atlantic City were both up a little more than 2%, while Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City saw a bump of just 0.3%. The other six casinos in AC were down in July compared to the same month last year, with two of them down by double-digit percentages.
Borgata remains the Atlantic City market leader. The Marina District casino kept $78.5 million from in-person gamblers, a 2.4% increase over July 2022. For the year, Borgata has reported $435 million from in-person gamblers, putting it 5.6% ahead of last year’s pace.
Hard Rock and Ocean Casino Resort both celebrated their five-year anniversaries this summer. Both have secured their positions in the top tier of the Atlantic City market in that time.
Hard Rock generated $53 million last month, a slight Y-o-Y increase. Through July, Hard Rock netted $287.3 million, trailing the first seven months of 2022 by 1.3%.
Ocean has been the market’s biggest mover in 2023, but the uptrend trend came stalled out last month. The Boardwalk casino generated $37.7 million in revenue last month, a 6.6% decline from July 2022. Year-to-date, Ocean’s $228 million is up 13.5% compared to 2022.
Resilient AC casino market showing signs of growth, slight stumbles
The three AC casinos operated by Caesars Entertainment each generated more than $24 million in monthly in-person gambling revenue in July. Caesars AC posted $24.9 million in revenue, down 1.2% from July 2022. Harrah’s Resort AC reported $25.2 million, a 4.5% Y-o-Y decrease. Meanwhile, Tropicana AC dipped more than 16% in July ’23 compared to a year prior, with revenue of $24.2 million.
Bally’s took a step forward in July, moving ahead of the city’s two smallest casinos. Bally’s reported $17.2 million in revenue, increasing 2.3% year-over-year. Through July, Bally’s AC is up 0.6% over last year with nearly $91 million in revenue.
The city’s first casino, Resorts Casino Hotel, stumbled a bit in July. The Boardwalk casino netted $15.2 million last month, a decline of more than 16% from 2022.
Golden Nugget Atlantic City, the city’s smallest casino hotel, generated just under $14 million last month, a 3.4% decline from a year earlier.
NJ’s gambling industry remains strong in face of economic headwinds
Total gambling revenue — the sum of AC casino win, internet gaming and sports wagering — increased more than 5% last month compared to July 2022. For the month, total gambling revenue generated more than $477.1 million.
NJ Online gambling revenue increased 13.5% year-over-year to $155.2 million.
Sports gamblers in NJ legally wagered more than $587 million, with 95.7% ($561.6 million) of that total going to online sportsbooks. Sportsbooks and online apps operating under AC casino licenses reported $32 million in July. Statewide sports gambling revenue jumped 35.6% to $61 million.
