Winter storm Jonas, which put paid to the Jan. 22-24 weekend, dealt a heavy blow to Atlantic City gaming revenues, which had finally appeared to have stabilized. The market was down 6% and Borgata 
($52 million) suffered an uncharacteristic 9% falloff. Slot revenue slipped 2% on flat coin-in and table revenues dropped 13% on 3% less wagered (an unlucky month for the house). Borgata slots were up 4.5% on 8% more coin-in but table games plummeted 32%, on 7% less play.
Despite all the adversity in the marketplace, four casinos managed revenue-positive months, including Trump Taj Mahal, up 2%, to $12 million. Resorts Atlantic City trailed it, up 3% but grossing only $11 million. Golden Nugget ($17 million) was up 5% and Tropicana Atlantic City gained 6%, to $21 million. On the flip side, all Caesars Entertainment properties continued to decline, with Bally’s grossing $14 million (-12%), Harrah’s Resort posting $28 million (-10%) and Caesars Atlantic City down 13.5% to $20 million.
Bundled up snug at home, Internet players lost $15 million to the casinos, a 26.5% increase from last year. In terms of market share, Borgata (31%) has a firm lead on the competition, with Tropicana (20%) breathing down Caesars’ (22%) neck.
* Given the ‘party hard’ promotional atmosphere with which Caesars hypes the Vegas High Roller, this story was purely inevitable. It’s Las Vegas, morals are loosened, as is clothing, and pretty soon you’ve got two people doing the nasty in full view of other tourists. Any more of this and the High Roller will have to come with a parental advisory, as there’s no telling as to what sort of aerial intercourse you might be subjected.
