Atlantic City casino revenue down 6.5% in 2015

That depressing news came only hours after New Jersey lawmakers introduced a bill that has long been the worst nightmare of the Atlantic City casino industry: a referendum to expand casino gambling to the northern part of the state.

Figures released Wednesday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show that the city's eight casinos took in $2.56 billion in 2015. That's a decline of 6.5 percent from 2014.

It's also less than half of what Atlantic City's casinos took in during their best year, 2006, when annual revenue was $5.2 billion.

But when only the eight currently operating casinos are included in the comparison, 2015 revenue was actually up 3.1 percent compared with 2014. Twelve casinos were in operation at the start of that year, but four - the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel, and Trump Plaza - all shut down in 2014.

Mayor Don Guardian, whose city has struggled mightily since the downturn began nine years ago, was hopeful the surviving gambling halls have stabilized. But he said the long-term harm has been unmistakable in lost money and jobs.

"We had a monopoly and 12 casinos," he said. "Now there are 30-something casinos in the Northeast, and we're about to have gambling in the northern part of the state. There are more gambling places than there are gamblers willing to gamble."

The year-end figures for 2015 show that five of the eight casinos won more that year than they did the year before. The largest percentage increase was logged by the Golden Nugget, which was up 24.6 percent for the year to $231.2 million. The biggest decline was at the struggling Trump Taj Mahal, which was down 16.5 percent to $180.2 million.

Internet gambling showed a healthy 21.2 percent increase in New Jersey in 2015, rising in its second full year to nearly $149 million.