Atlantic City casinos slow the slide in October but steeper declines await

Atlantic City casino gambling revenue suffered only a modest year-on-year dip in October, although the prospect of a return to double-digit declines looms large.

Figures released Friday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show AC’s nine casinos generated brick-and-mortar slots and table game revenue of $186.1m in October, an 8% decline from the same month last year and $3.9m below September 2020’s result.

October’s decline was largely due to decreased slots activity, which slid nearly 10% to $132.85m, while table games fell only 2.8% to $53.25m. For the year-to-date, slots revenue is down 45% to $887.9m, while tables are off 48.2% to $331m, for an overall 46% decline to $1.21b.

October’s picture was far less grim after you add the $118m generated by the casinos’ online gambling and sports betting operations. Thanks to those contributions, October’s result was up 14.2% to $304.1m, although the year-to-date figure remains down 22.7% at $2.11b.