Atlantic City casinos finished 2019 with gains in both revenue and operating profits, but it’s all a distant memory in this new pandemic reality.

Figures released this week by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show AC’s nine casinos – and two of their standalone online gambling operations – reported combined revenue of nearly $740.5m in the final three months of 2019, up 5.1% from the final quarter of 2018.

As usual, the Borgata led the revenue chart with just under $196m, a modest 2% year-on-year improvement. Second-place went to the upstart Hard Rock Atlantic City ($93.8m, +15.7%), which didn’t open its doors until mid-2018. The biggest gainer was the Ocean Casino Resort ($60.8m, +45.4%), which also opened in mid-2018 but struggled to match the Hard Rock’s performance out of the gate.

Combined gross operating profits shot up 78.7% to $129.2m, despite three casinos reporting negative profit growth in Q4. The Borgata claimed top spot with $44.6m, although this was down 1.4% year-on-year. Harrah’s claimed second-place ($18.3m, +36.3%) while Ocean Casino roared back to profitability with $9.3m versus a $22.3m loss in Q4 2018.