August of 2012 saw many Atlantic City resorts and casino increasing their revenues. This was the first increase in revenue for the struggling industry since December of last year. Some suggest that calm, pleasant weather may have played an important role in bring more people to the seaside area, which, in turn, led to more gambling profits.
In total, the 12 current hotel casinos saw profits of just under $314 million for the month of August. This is a 13 percent rise when compared to the same period of last year. These numbers were issued by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. The numbers broke down as follows: slot revenue rose to a little over $226 million or up by17 percent; table games revenues increased to $87.8 million or up by 3 percent.
The numbers for August also included new revenue from the $2.4 billion dollar Revel luxury casino and resort. This facility was not in operation during August of last year. According to records, the new resort casino brought in about $20 million from its table games and slot machines during the month of August. It July, the Revel brought in $17.5 million. Its current revenues put it as eighth on the list among all Atlantic City casinos. It was also reported that the Revel’s hotel occupancy leaped into the 90 percent range, which is a full 20 percent higher than what it saw in July.
The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa is reported to have the best revenues for this time period with gambling revenues of some $55.3 million for the month of August. This is an increase of 1 percent. The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel saw its August revenues go up by a whooping 25 percent, representing some $14.8 million. The Atlantic Club, which was once known as the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort, has rebranded itself recently allowing for more low stakes gambling. It has also invested in remodeled its casino floor to include overhauling all of its slots, adding penny games as part of its effort to bring in more people.
In addition to the above, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort saw an increase in revenues by 21 percent. The Golden Nugget Atlantic City was up by 16 percent. Harrah’s Resort saw an increase of 15 percent during August.
Not everyone was a winner during August. Some casinos actually saw a drop in revenues. These include Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino and Bally’s Atlantic City, both of which saw a decrease of about 3 percent. The Tropicana Casino and Resort saw a loss of 2 percent. Caesars Atlantic City only saw a slight decrease in revenues for August, less than one percentage point.
As to why so many facilities saw an increase in August? As mentioned above, good weather was perhaps the biggest reason, but the area has also been hosting many events lately which may be bringing in more people. In August alone, there were 64 events hosted, all open to the public. For August 2011, there were only 33 public events.