Snow Buries Atlantic City Casino Revenue In February

The Atlantic City casino industry has been in need of a shot in the arm. In stead, it has received a kick in the gut. February revenue numbers have been released, and it is more bad news for the city's eleven casinos.

For February, revenue at Atlantic City casinos was $261.6 million. That represented a 15.6% drop from the same period in 2008. The economy was the reason that the 2008 February figures were low, but this year, something else is being blamed.

"There were ten snow days," said Don Marrandino, Harrah's Entertainment's Eastern Division President, "and during those days, we were down thirty-nine percent." Other casinos reported similar results for the month.

The winter was especially harsh this year in the Northeast. Atlantic City casinos have been trying to hold on financially after the economic recession gutted their revenue. Now, the poor winter weather has thrown additional fuel on the fire.

In December, Pennsylvania casinos had higher slot revenue than New Jersey casinos for the first time in history. The competition from Pennsylvania is only expected to get stiffer with the addition of table games.

New York and Maryland have made strides towards gambling expansion, and Delaware legalized sports betting last year. New jersey lawmakers are considering adding sports gambling to help get the casino industry in the state back on track.

March 10, 2010
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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