ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Atlantic City casinos and two Internet-only entities earned $281.2 million in the third quarter of this year, down 7.5% from the same period a year ago, New Jersey gambling regulators said Tuesday.
Figures from the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show that while the nine casinos collectively exceeded the profitability levels they enjoyed in the third quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, this was largely due to the strong performance of the two newest casinos. , and one accounting change by another.
Hard Rock posted third-quarter gross operating profit of $44.3 million, up less than 1% from a year earlier. And the Ocean Casino Resort had a profit of $43 million, up more than 10% from a year earlier.
Gross operating profit reflects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and other expenses, and is a generally accepted measure of profitability in the Atlantic City casino industry.
“Consistent with the experiences of many resort communities along the New Jersey coast, Atlantic City saw a bit of a cooling in the summer of 2023 compared to the pent-up post-pandemic energy of 2021 and 2022,” said Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute from Stockton University, which studies the casino industry in Atlantic City. “That said, it outperformed the pre-pandemic year in 2019 in both net sales and gross operating profit, suggesting this could be part of a cycle of stabilization.”
James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, noted that third-quarter gross operating profit was the third best in Atlantic City since 2008, despite the negative impact of a cybersecurity issue affecting the parent companies of four casinos.
The Borgata reported a profit of $73.5 million, down 1.7% from a year ago. But the Gaming Enforcement Division said the Borgata recently changed the way it handles some rental costs, moving them from the operating expense category to non-operating expenses for accounting purposes.
That significantly increased the amount of the casino’s reported gross operating profits, the division said.
The Tropicana had a profit of $36.7 million, down 11.5%; Harrah’s had a profit of $30 million, down more than 13%; Caesars had a profit of $21.1 million, down almost 18%; Golden Nugget had a profit of $11 million, almost 4%; Bally’s had a profit of $7.3 million, a decline of more than 32%; and Resorts had a profit of $7.2 million, a decline of almost 43%.
Among Internet companies, Caesars Interactive Entertainment NJ had a profit of $5.1 million, down 18%, and Resorts Digital had a profit of almost $1.6%, down almost 50%.
Through the first nine months of this year, its casinos and online operations earned $632.1 million, down 4.2% from the same period a year earlier.
In terms of casino hotel rooms, Hard Rock had the highest occupancy rate of over 96% in the third quarter; Golden Nugget was the lowest at just over 67%.
The highest average room rate per night was $346.87 at Ocean; the lowest was $147.89 at Resorts.
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