Atlantic City casinos defied expectations by posting a rise in their third-quarter operating profits, the market’s best showing in years.

Figures released Friday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show AC’s nine casino operators generated net revenue of just under $929m in the three months ending September 30, up 2.7% from the same period last year.

Operating profits shot up 12.5% to $239.4m, the first overall profit gain since AC welcomed two new operators – Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort (OCR) – in June 2018. However, year-to-date operating profit remains down 4.5% at $484.6m due to the profit declines in both Q1 and Q2, with Q1’s nearly 30% decline weighing particularly heavy on the year-to-date results.

A good chunk of Q3’s profit rise was due to those two new casinos, which were still snowed under with opening costs in Q3 2018. Hard Rock reported its Q3 profit up 195.4% to $24.4m while OCR’s profit soared 1,660% to $10.2m.