Tropicana revenue gains; Borgata eyeing expansion; AC to host Arena Football

The Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City has posted an impressive 24% improvement in net revenue in 2014.

According to the company’s annual reports to investors, net revenue in 2014 reached $303.08 million, a steady improvement from the $244.7 million it earned in 2013, largely tributed to an increase in gambling revenue amounting to $55.2 million.

Tropicana’s operating profits posted small gains, amounting to $12.4 million in 2014 compared to $11.19 million in 2013. The property tax refund from Atlantic City with $31.7 million helped the Tropicana, giving owner Carl Icahn some measure of relief after five casinos in Atlantic City shuttered their windows last year. One of them, the Trump Taj Mahal, is expected to be added to Icahn’s portfolio, at least depending on the outcome of bankruptcy court proceedings currently underway for the property.

Meanwhile, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa—another one of Atlantic City’s casinos that are still standing—has announced plans to expand its business, including the development of an outdoor entertainment venue to host concerts and festivals and a new, state-of-the-art nightclub.

Plans for this expansion have now been set into motion after the casino operator received preliminary determination of eligibility from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to use around $14 million of its “current and future funds on deposit with the CRDA generated from its Investment Alternative Tax payments.”

Part of this investment will go in the development and construction of the Borgata Festival Park and the new nightclub.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to enhance and grow our already tremendous entertainment offerings through funding by the CRDA and a wonderful partnership with Live Nation,” Borgata President and CEO Tom Ballance said in a statement. “Upon our entry into the market in 2003, Borgata set the bar for entertainment and nightlife in Atlantic City, so it is only appropriate that we raise it yet again with the addition of these two substantial projects.”