ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s casino revenue
fell below $3 billion last year for the first time in 22 years, as
increasing competition in the northeastern U.S. continued to shrink the
market.
Figures released Tuesday by the state Division of Gaming
Enforcement showed the city’s casinos won $2.86 billion in 2013, down
from just over $3 billion in 2012.
The figures also showed the
state’s fledgling Internet gambling industry being dominated by two main
players: the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and Caesars Interactive,
which together won $6.1 million of the $8.4 million that was taken in by
New Jersey Internet gambling sites over the final five weeks of 2013.
The
Borgata, with its partypoker online brand, took in more than $3.7
million in online gambling revenue since Internet betting began in New
Jersey on Nov. 21.
"Our network has attracted the largest pool of
players in the New Jersey online market, allowing us to offer our
customers a wide selection of games and table stakes at all times," said
Keith Smith, president of Boyd Gaming, which owns half of the Borgata.
"This gives our network a significant competitive advantage and
positions us for further success."
He also said the initial
figures answer one key question, at least for the Borgata: whether
Internet gambling will bring in new revenue, or simply cannibalize
existing brick-and-mortar operations.
"When matching our online
and land-based databases, we found that 60 percent of online casino
customers had not been to Borgata in over a year, and over 75 percent
had made fewer than two trips to Borgata in the past year," Smith said.
"And on a combined basis, online and land-based poker revenue at Borgata
was up more than 40 percent from our land-based play in December 2012.
Clearly, online gaming is complementary to our land-based business, not
competitive."
Caesars Interactive, which runs sites including the
WSOP and 888 brands, won nearly $2.4 million online from late November
through the end of the year.
Other competitors lagged badly in the
online market. The Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and its ucasino brand,
won $883,000. The Tropicana Casino and Resort won $748,000; Trump Plaza
Hotel Casino and its betfair online brand won $427,000, and the Golden
Nugget, whose launch was delayed for weeks by technical problems, won
$179,000.
Revel Casino Hotel posted the biggest annual revenue
gain, at nearly 27 percent to $155 million, but that was mainly because
it did so poorly a year earlier.
Trump Plaza had the biggest decline, down nearly 28 percent, to just $74 million for the year.
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Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC
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