Atlantic City land casino operators will be encouraged by the news that revenues in June, assisted by a $9.5 million contribution from online gambling activity, rose 4 percent year-on-year.
The news lightened the mood in the wake of Monday’s issue of pink slips to 1,153 Trump Plaza workers as that land and online casino becomes the third this year to wind down (see previous reports).
AC operators won $235.9 million in June, up from $227.1 million in June 2013, when Internet gambling was not yet legal in New Jersey, the Associated Press news agency reports.
However, the agency notes that when the now shuttered Atlantic Club’s revenue numbers are included, AC revenue was down 5.7 percent for the month, according to statistics published by the New Jersey Division of Gambling Enforcement.
The regulator also noted that online poker activity in the Garden State declined for the third consecutive month, with the three legal operators recording revenues of $2,048,082 in June – down almost 10 percent on the preceding month.
Overall, online gambling in New Jersey fell by 9.17percent from $10.47 million in May to $9.51 million in June.
On a more positive note, the regulator said that total online gaming accounts in the state rose another 7.81 percent to 378,564 – an increase of 27,428 new accounts.
The Borgata continued to lead the New Jersey online gambling operators with $3.4 million in online winnings. Caesars Interactive had $2.6 million, the Tropicana had $1.7 million, the Golden Nugget had $710,635 and the two Trump casinos each had about a half million in online revenue in June.
AP reports that over 7,000 Atlantic City casino workers – about one in four – have been warned their jobs could disappear within 60 days.
The head of the local casino workers’ union has characterised that as “a pending catastrophe,” not only for the workers and their families, but for the state which relies on casino taxes to fund programs for senior citizens and the disabled.