Atlantic City casinos had double-digit revenue decline in November

The previous two months had seen only single-digit decreases, and casino operators in the nation's second-largest gambling market had hoped that another decline of less than 10 % would signal that the market had hit bottom. Overall, the casinos won us$ 299.3 million. Slots revenue accounted for us$ 206.8 million of that total, table games the rest.

The Atlantic City casinos have been battered by the recession and competition from slots parlors in neighboring Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware. Having one less Saturday during November this year also hurt, but only slightly. "There's no sugar coating it," said Joe Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a New Jersey casino consulting firm. "It's another poor result for the Atlantic City casinos."

While the results may fluctuate on a month-to-month basis, there's more pain in store for Atlantic City in the year ahead, Weinert said, because still more competition is coming. He noted the scheduled opening of the Sugar House casino in Philadelphia and live table games likely to begin operating in Delaware and possibly also in Pennsylvania.

None of the 11 Atlantic City casinos saw an increase in revenue in November. Showboat Casino Hotel showed the smallest decrease, 1.9 %. Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino saw the largest decline, 25.8 %, followed closely by Caesars Atlantic City (down 23.1 %), Resorts Atlantic City (down 21.4 %) and the Atlantic City Hilton (down 20.7 %).

Others showing double-digit declines were Trump Marina Hotel Casino (down 19.7 %), Bally's Atlantic City (down 15.2 %), Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort (down 13.3 %) and Tropicana Casino and Resort (down 10 %).

Only three casinos showed single-digit decreases: Showboat, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (down 8 %), and Harrah's Atlantic City (down 3.9 %). For the first 11 months of the year, casino revenues are down 13.5 % compared to 2008.