ambling proceeds shrank to us$ 296.3 million, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission said yesterday on its website. Slot machine revenue at the 11 casinos fell 9.9 % to us$ 209 million from a year earlier. Table proceeds declined 16 % to us$ 87.4 million.
The results extend three years of declines for the New Jersey seaside resort, the second-biggest US casino city after Las Vegas. Philadelphia’s first casino, SugarHouse, opened September 23 with 40 table games and 1,600 slot machines, attracting gamblers who live in a key Atlantic City market.
Atlantic City has been hurt by the economy and growing competition from surrounding states such as Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware. Six of the casinos went through bankruptcy or restructured debt in the past year, and development has stalled.
The casinos’ gambling revenue was us$ 2.8 billion in this year’s first nine months, 8.7 % less than a year earlier.
