The nine casinos of Atlantic City, New Jersey, have revealed their financial results for the period ending September 30, 2021, citing huge year-on-year profit increases.
As reported by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, collective gross operating profit reached $310m for the third quarter of 2021, over double the number for the comparable year-on-year period.
“Through efficiencies, every operator posted a profit in the third quarter, a great accomplishment coming out of an extremely challenging period,” noted James Plousis, Chair of the state’s casino control commission, in a statement.
“Atlantic City’s recovery is gaining momentum and is on track for an impressive year.”
Of Atlantic City’s nine properties, the Borgata had the highest operating profit at $57.2m, a year-on-year increase of approximately $55m. This is followed by Tropicana, which recorded a profit of $48m, and Hard Rock, for which earnings more than doubled to $46m.
On the results, Jane Bokunewicz, Director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University said: “So far it seems operators have been able to successfully balance the currently reduced labor supply with growing consumer demand for resort amenities including lodging,” she said. “That does raise the question of the potential impact on future employment in the casinos, and if some currently unfilled jobs might ultimately be eliminated.”
Caesars followed Hard Rock with a profit of $27.6m. Golden Nugget also saw growth as the operator’s earnings grew to $14.3m.
"We are pleased that the north end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk — ‘North Beach’ — continues to lead the market, with Hard Rock Atlantic City, Ocean Casino Resort and Resorts showing the majority of the increase in comparison to 2019,” added Joe Lupo, Hard Rock’s President.
In the state’s online gaming market Golden Nugget was the most profitable of the nine operators, earning just over $9m, a $400,000 decrease from the prior-year period.