Atlantic City saw a gross operating profit of almost a quarter for 2017, according to figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Six of the seven casinos in the East Coast resort city reported positive numbers, which saw profits jump 23.7% year or year, reaching $723.2m from 2016’s 584.7m.
Figures were boosted by a Q4 increase of 39%, to $161.4m, building on the Q3 and Q2 increases of 19.8% and 19.2% respectively, after a 30.4% increase begun the year in Q1.
The Borgata took the lion’s share with a 19.5% rise to $292.4m, ahead of Caesars who also saw a $19.5% increase, reaching $92.1m from 2016’s $77m, and the Tropicana, who revealed the years largest percentage win of 71%, to $91.9m.
Outside of that trio was Bally’s with $42.1m, an 8.1% gain, the Golden Nugget $40m (38.3%) and Resorts $23.1m (23.6%), with Harrah’s being left as the sole property to report a decline, with profits falling 2.7% to $115.8m.
The duo of operators in New Jersey’s regulated online market, namely Caesars Interactive Entertainment and Resorts Digital, also reported profits of $11m and $14.4m respectively.
Total revenue for the seven properties across the year also saw a gain, of 0.9% to £3.54bn, which rises a further 0.5% to $3.73bn when factoring in sales from third parties.
Breaking down the casino licensees total revenue further still sees a 1.6% increase in gaming operations, reaching a figure of $2.5bn, entertainment and other bringing in $164.5m, a 6% rise, and profits from food and beverage sales declining 0.8% to $427.2m.
Room revenue also saw a decrease of 3.6% to $391m, despite FY figures highlighting an occupancy rate in the industry’s casino hotels increasing 5.4 percentage points, reaching 86.9% overall.
Of that figure Caesars led the way with a 91% occupancy rate, while the Golden Nugget lagged behind somewhat a figure of 77.8%.
Average room rates for the period highlighted an average of $108.35, with the Borgata the most expensive at $133.04 and the Golden Nugget the opposite at $83.38.
Atlantic City will be hoping these figures provide a much need boost after a turbulent 2018 thus far, which has seen extreme weather have a detrimental effect on profits.
It remains to be seen what effect the opening of two properties later this year will have on profits for the region, with the Ocean Resort Casino, formerly the Revel, and Hard Rock Atlantic City, formerly the Trump Taj Mahal, set to join the party.
