Atlantic City casinos saw a 1.6 percent increase in earnings for the second quarter over 2017, collectively making a profit of $171.4 million according to figures release by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Regulators had initially reported profits were down for the quarter, but later corrected the figures to show the slight increase.
According to an analysis by the Associated Press, the city’s leading casino, the Borgata, did see a 20.6 percent decline in operating profit for the quarter taking in $53 million. That figure, however, still easily led the market.
The largest increase was at Resorts casino, which saw its profit up nearly 64 percent to more than $9 million.
Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and other charges and is a widely-accepted measure of profitability in the Atlantic City gambling industry.
The earnings report for the quarter is the last to focus primarily on the seven city casinos that were open before Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort casino both opened on June 27.
“These numbers are an improvement from the first quarter and that is a positive sign in light of the new competition that was entering the market,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in a press release. “I remain optimistic that the addition of sports betting, new amenities and entertainment will continue to expand the industry.”
According to the AP, Harrah’s profit of $31.5 million was up 20.2 percent from the second quarter of 2017; Caesars profit of $24.6 million was down 4.6 percent, and the Golden Nugget’s $14.2 million profit was up nearly 32 percent.
Bally’s profit of $11.7 million was up 2.7 percent and Tropicana’s profit of $25.2 million was up over 34 percent.
Among the two newly opened casinos, The Ocean Resort Casino reported a gross operating profit of $860,000, while Hard Rock reported an operating loss of $2.1 million.
For online companies, Caesars Interactive NJ reported an operating profit of $2.9 million, up more than 40 percent from a year ago. Resorts Digital reported an operating profit of $391,000, which was down from an operating profit of $1.3 million a year ago, the AP reported.
A reporting change also affected the report. A line of revenue that used to be reported as “promotional expenses” is now required to be reported as a reduction to “casino revenue.” These changes were considered when regulators calculated earnings comparisons with those of a year ago, the release said.
For the first half of 2018, the casinos reported a collective gross operating profit of $294.4 million, a decrease of 4.6 percent from the same period last year, the AP reported.
In another Atlantic City story, city officials have been concerned that a planned shutdown of Atlantic City’s rail service to install federally mandated safety equipment is really a ploy by the state to end service to the resort.
However, the head of NJ Transit said service will resume in January.
“The silver lining is that we will not be shutting down permanently,” said Kevin Corbett, executive director of NJ Transit, during a press conference. “I know there’s been concern and skepticism that this is a bait and switch. It is not. We’re not putting millions of dollars of PTC (positive train control) equipment in only to not start service again.”
The rail line will shut down for the work September 5. The federal government has given NJ Transit a deadline of Dec. 31 to have PTC equipment installed on all its rail lines, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
