Atlantic City: Half-full or half-empty?; Crosby tips his hand

It depends on which newspaper you read. The Press of Atlantic City took the half-full route, focusing on the profits made by eight of the city’s dozen casinos. The Associated Press pointed to the narrowing margin of aforesaid gross-operating profitability. No surprise, Borgata was the most profitable of the bunch and Revel Resort the least, the latter widening its 2Q13 losses from the year previous, which wasn’t so hot either. The Tropicana Atlantic City posted the most revenue growth (28%), besting Caesars Atlantic City by a hairsbreadth. Miraculously, both Trump Entertainment Resorts casinos finished in the black, although their profit margins cratered: -73% at Trump Taj Mahal and -98% at Trump Plaza.

Nobody’s losses were even remotely as great as Revel’s -($41 million in the quarter). The resort transferred the pain to its workforce, reneging on 401(k) contributions. Between this and the double talk of its “refunds” of player losses, Revel is the prohibitive frontrunner for Indian Giver of the Year. We understand that Revel is desperately trying to survive but revenue was up 33% last month and this hardly seems like the time to alienate one’s employees.

The sad side of Atlantic City. In a tragic Boardwalk saga, the New York Times has discovered a doleful aspect of Atlantic City‘s casino commuter subculture. Many are Asian immigrants who ride the buses to and from the shore. Some come for the free play but others go for dining coupons that they resell on the black market. Others simply stack some Zs at the slot machines. Still others just go back and forth for something to do. Nor is it only Atlantic City. Sands Bethlehem is a favored destination, daring the wrath of Sheldon Adelson, as are Connecticut‘s tribal casinos. In an inexpressibly sad statement, bus rider Chun-Hae Young said, “The casino is a kind of place that can bleed you dry of everything. It can also save your life when you have nothing.

Play nice, boys. In a possible hint of where he’s leaning, Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby asked Steve Wynn and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino whether we can’t all get along. From where I sit, Wynn Resorts has conducted itself with dignity while Menino has done everything possible to kneecap its Everett project. Said Crosby, “When you have two parties spatting in public, it makes everything look disorganized or suspect or political.” The man’s right.

[your name here] Don’t get used to that cheesy “Vegas High Roller” name. Penurious Caesars Entertainment is putting naming rights to its Ferris wheel on the block. Look on the bright side: They could always sell them to Joe Francis and call it the “Girls Gone Wild Whirl.” However, given the amount of money Caesars has extracted from the wallet of hapless high rollerTerrance K. Watanabe, “Watanabe’s Wheel” has a nice ring to it.

Unfortunate sentence of the week: “Crown’s Sydney casino project, at the Barangaroo development west of the city’s main business district, was last month moved to the third stage of a state government approval process, beating off competition from an Echo proposal to expand its Star site.” –Now, now, lads. I’m sure we can settle this without resorting to self-abuse.