Sept. revenue declines 5.8 percent at NJ casinos

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Revenue is still falling for Atlantic City’s 11 casinos, but at least the plunge is slowing down.

Revenue from the gambling halls in September fell by 5.8 percent compared with a year ago, but that was far better than the more than 16 percent drop recorded in August. The casinos took in $335.4 million last month, and four casinos actually saw revenues increase.

The gambling halls won $231.8 million at the slot machines, down 5.2 percent from a year ago, and $103.5 million at table games, down 6.9 percent.

“I hope we’re seeing signs that things are starting to stabilize,” said Mark Juliano, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which owns three casinos here. “Perhaps the double-digit (declines) might be behind us. The real question is how long until we get back to the results we saw in past years, which is the question everyone in every business has.”

Don Marrandino, eastern division president of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., said the while the results were helped by a Labor Day weekend that fell entirely within September this year as opposed to last year, it still felt better to see a smaller decline.

“You look for the silver lining,” he said. “My gut is it’s way too early to say. The game’s not over yet, that’s for sure.”

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa returned to its customary place as the industry leader in September, posting a 6 percent increase. Other gainers included Resorts Atlantic City (up 3.9 percent); Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City (up 3.1 percent); and the Tropicana Casino and Resort (up 1 percent.)

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino posted the biggest decline in September, down 16.5 percent, followed closely by the Atlantic City Hilton Casino resort (down 16.3 percent). Trump Marina Hotel casino was down 14.2 percent, the Showboat Casino Hotel was down 13.6 percent, Bally’s Atlantic City was down 13.3 percent, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort was down 12.4 percent, and Caesars Atlantic City was down 6.3 percent.

For the first nine months of the year, Atlantic City’s casino revenues are down 14.2 percent.

Atlantic City is in its third straight year of revenue declines that started when slots parlors started opening in Pennsylvania in 2006.