ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Not even a boost from Internet
gambling money and the comparison with an extremely slow period after
Superstorm Sandy could prevent Atlantic City's casinos from seeing a big
decline in their earnings in 2013.
The casinos saw their gross operating profits decline by
nearly 35 percent last year.
The 12 casinos that operated in 2013 - the Atlantic Club
shut down in January of 2014 - posted a collective gross operating profit of
$235 million, down from $360 million in 2012.
For the fourth quarter of 2013, the casinos reduced their
gross operating losses by more than 73 percent, to a loss of $5.7 million in
the last three months of the year. That was compared with a loss of $21.6
million in the same period of 2012, when New Jersey was still reeling from the
effects of Superstorm Sandy.
Gross operating profit includes earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and other charges, and is a widely accepted measure of
profitability in the casino industry.
The earnings report issued Monday by the state Division of
Gaming Enforcement is the first to cover the period when New Jersey offered
Internet gambling, which began in late November. But only five casinos offered
Internet gambling under their own licenses. Two more - Bally's Atlantic City
and Caesars Atlantic City - did so through the license of their affiliate
Caesars Interactive Entertainment NJ, which is broken out of the report into
its own category. And five other casinos did not offer Internet gambling,
making direct comparisons difficult.
The Tropicana Casino and Resort saw the largest jump in
earnings for the year, increasing by more than 47 percent to $26.5 million. The
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa saw its profit increase by less than 2 percent,
to $121.6 million for the year.
The Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort posted a gross operating
profit of $19.6 million for the year, but that was down more than 55 percent
from 2012. Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, one of the city's most struggling
casinos, swung from an operating profit of nearly $10 million in 2012 to an
operating loss of $4.7 million in 2013.
The Golden Nugget Atlantic City cut its operating loss from
$11.4 million in 2012 to $10.4 million last year.
Harrah's Resort Atlantic City saw its operating profit for
the year fall by 19.5 percent to $102.1 million; the Showboat Casino Hotel saw
its profit fall by nearly 28 percent to $34 million, and Resorts Casino Hotel
saw its operating losses widen by more than 54 percent, to $12.2 million,
despite the opening of its Margaritaville complex last year.
Bally's saw its profits decline by more than 45 percent, to
$33.4 millio0n, and Caesars saw its profits fall by 16 percent to $69.5
million. Their online affiliate, Caesars Interactive Entertainment NJ, posted a
gross operating loss of nearly $1.3 million. It began online gambling
operations on Nov. 21.
Revel Casino Hotel, which is seeking a buyer, saw its
operating loss widen by 17.4 percent for the year, to $130.2 million.
The Atlantic Club had cut its operating loss by nearly 34
percent, to $12.7 million. But the improvement was too little, too late; the
casino was bought at a bankruptcy court auction by Tropicana Entertainment and
Caesars Entertainment, who divided its assets and shut it down on Jan. 13.
Casino regulators took heart in increases in food and
beverage sales and room rentals in the fourth quarter of the year - even if
they were due mostly to the comparison with the end of 2012 when the casinos
closed for five to seven days because of Sandy, and then saw their business
languish for months as customers cleaned up and tried to rebuild their
storm-damaged homes.
Matt Levinson, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control
Commission, said receipts from the luxury tax, hotel tax, tourism tax and sales
tax hit record highs last year.
"These numbers show that Atlantic City's casinos are
continuing to broaden their appeal and the casino industry's focus on
developing non-gaming amenities is clearly bearing fruit," he said.
Source: Philly.com
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