Atlantic City casinos had another down month in May as casino revenue declined 5.1 percent compared to May 2017.
Figures released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show the seven casinos won $217.6 million in May. Online gambling remained a bright sport bringing in $24.3 million, up 15 percent over May 2017.
“Somebody was lucky in May, but it wasn’t the casinos,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in a press release. “Casino win was down last month largely because casinos were unusually lucky at the tables last year in May, and players kept more of their money this May.”
The decline follows a tough start to the year that saw consistent declines attributed to bad weather, including several severe storms in the winter months and early spring.
For May, three casinos showed revenue increases according to an analysis by the Associated Press. Tropicana was up 4.5 percent to $34.3 million, Golden Nugget was up 15.2 percent to $2 8.3 million and Resorts saw a 1.2 percent increase to $15.5 million.
For the year, the casinos have won just over $1 billion, which is 4.3 percent behind the pace they were at over the same period last year, according to the AP.
For online companies, Caesars Entertainment-NJ was up 12.4 percent to just under $4.1 million. Resorts Digital was down 9.5 percent to $3.6 million. Golden Nugget casino led the online market with more than $8.6 million.
In another story, a report by the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University found key tourism indicators for Atlantic City were up in 2017.
Numbers were up for the year in three key indicators—Atlantic County lodging fee per 100 rooms, Atlantic City casino parking fee per 100 spaces and the Atlantic County non-casino revenue per available room. Still, the three indicators showed decline in the last three months of 2017, the report said.
