Atlantic City casino profits jump nearly one-quarter in 2017

Atlantic City casinos saw their profits jump by nearly one-quarter in 2017 despite a relatively flat revenue performance.

According to figures released Monday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), the east coast tourist hub’s seven casino operators reported total revenue of $3.54b in 2017, up 0.9% from 2016’s tally. Counting contributions from the casinos’ third-party partners, the annual figure was up 0.5% to $3.74b.

The casinos’ gaming revenue was up 1.6% year-on-year to $2.56b, slightly below than the $2.66b the DGE originally reported in January. Room revenue slipped 3.6% to $391m despite occupancy rising 5.4 points to 86.9%, while food & beverage fell 0.8% to $427.3m and ‘entertainment & other’ rose 6% to $164.5m.

More to the point, the seven operators posted a combined gross operating profit of $723.3m, a 23.7% year-on-year improvement. Six of the casinos were in positive profit territory, with Caesars Entertainment’s Harrah’s property playing spoiler, as its profit fell 2.7% to $115.8m.