Atlantic City Casino Revenue Jumps To $300 Million in July, Highest Since 2016

Written By Chris Imperiale on August 19, 2022
Image via Shutterstock

Atlantic City casinos produced an incredible month in July, almost exceeding $300 million in revenue. The $299 million earned by AC casinos was a substantial jump up from previous monthly reports, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

After earning a solid $229 million in June, profits soared up by about $70 million, or 31%. This is the most revenue generated from the nine retail casinos in quite a while. The last time they topped $300 million for monthly earnings was in Nov. 2016 ($360.2 million).

Overall, this past month beat out July 2021’s performance by around $22 million, or 8%.

With several impressive months in a row now, it appears AC casino revenue is just about back to where it once was. Since health restrictions are no longer an issue, retail establishments have posted a minimum of $212 million in monthly revenue in each of the previous six months.

Atlantic City casino revenue jumps in July

AC casinos are in a great position compared to last year. Their slightly more than $1.6 billion in earnings through seven months is significantly ahead of the pace from 2021. Revenue is up about $220 million, or 16%, from the almost $1.39 billion at this point a year ago.

While the previous two years don’t provide the best comparisons due to pandemic rules in place, AC retail casino revenue easily bested figures from July 2019. That month finished with about $277 million in profits, $22 million shy of this latest output.

Since earnings saw a boost between June and July in the past, this result is somewhat expected. However, an increase of more than 30% is meaningful and probably more than operators forecasted.

The Borgata led the way in terms of the revenue push, tallying almost $77 million in July. (More about this new monthly AC record below.) This represented a 20.2% change for the better compared to last year. It was also a 41% climb when looking at June’s production.

Ocean Casino is the only one to grow more year-over-year. Its revenue surged to over $40 million in 2022, a 33.2% rise from 12 months ago. This helped Ocean Casino place third overall in July, not terribly far behind the Hard Rock in second.

Hard Rock nearly reached $53 million in profits last month, a 10.8% increase YoY and 19% up from June.

Although these casinos did well, not all of them can say the same. Caesars, Golden Nugget, Harrah’s, Resorts, and Tropicana each saw YoY declines. That being said, all of these AC casinos also made more in July than they did in June.

Atlantic City casino July revenue breakdown

This table provides a closer look at the July slots and table games results for all nine of the Atlantic City properties:

Casino Table & Other Poker Slot Machines Total Gaming Win
Bally’s $4,041,541 $ – $12,778,755 $16,820,296
Borgata $21,678,595 $1,394,168 $53,657,028 $76,729,791
Caesars $8,496,504 $ – $16,659,718 $25,156,222
Golden Nugget $2,346,547 $ – $12,140,463 $14,487,010
Hard Rock $17,063,188 $ – $35,827,283 $52,890,471
Harrah’s $5,764,556 $293,477 $20,374,006 $26,432,039
Ocean Casino $12,817,265 $ – $27,553,500 $40,370,765
Resorts $3,361,331 $- $14,780,010 $18,141,341
Tropicana $5,656,037 $227,846 $22,078,805 $27,962,688
Total $81,255,564 $1,915,491 $215,849,568 $298,990,623

Table games rebound at AC casinos

Table games witnessed the most growth during July wagering. They managed to earn casinos over $83 million last month, which is an increase of 15% from the year prior.

Following a down month in June at just $58 million, this was a great recovery.

Revenue from slots improved, as well, but not at the same rate. Slot machine earnings hit right around $216 million, a 5.5% upturn year-over-year.

Despite not having the worst June, slots games brought in about $45 million more in July. This was an increase of 26%.

With both types of casino games headed in the right direction, there’s no telling where August betting numbers will land.

Borgata sets monthly AC casino revenue record

Borgata’s massive showing in July actually came up just a tad short of its retail revenue from July 2019 by around $4 million. Still, along with its net from online casino and sports betting, it was enough to set the record for the best month ever by any AC casino.

The $124 million in total revenue defeated Borgata’s old record, set in Sept. 2021, with almost $112 million.

Borgata’s online casino app created a little less than $43 million, whereas sports betting was right at $4.4 million.

The casino’s president, Travis Lunn, discussed how AC is in a great place overall right now. Lunn said:

“When you look at the health of Atlantic City as a whole, it shows people are visiting and enjoy the activities they love. I believe it is a sign and recognition of the reinvestment our industry is placing into Atlantic City.”

Even though Borgata’s retail casino revenue didn’t quite match where it was in July 2019, that was a truly special month. Profits dipped back down to near $72 million in August following Borgata’s record retail month.

It’s possible this August trends in the opposite direction, with another uptick in betting.

Photo by Shutterstock
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Chris Imperiale

Chris Imperiale covers legal sports betting and casino gambling in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He has a journalism degree from Rutgers University and was formerly on staff at Bleacher Report.

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