Atlantic City Casino Profits Fall 7.5% in 3rd Quarter of 2023

Atlantic City Casinos Report $281.2 Million Q3 Earnings Amidst Industry Dynamics

Atlantic City, N.J. — New Jersey gambling regulators revealed on Tuesday that the city’s casinos, along with two internet-only entities, generated $281.2 million in the third quarter of this year, marking a 7.5% decline compared to the same period last year.

While the nine casinos collectively surpassed their profitability from the pre-pandemic third quarter of 2019, this was largely attributed to the impressive performance of the two newest casinos and an accounting change by another establishment. Hard Rock reported a gross operating profit of $44.3 million, a modest increase of less than 1% from the previous year, while the Ocean Casino Resort saw a profit of $43 million, reflecting a noteworthy growth of over 10% from the same period last year.

Gross operating profit, a key measure of profitability in the Atlantic City casino industry, accounts for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and other expenses.

Jane Bokunewicz, Director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City casino industry, noted, “In keeping with the experiences of many resort communities along the New Jersey shore, Atlantic City saw a bit of a cooling off in summer 2023 compared to the pent-up post-pandemic energy seen in 2021 and 2022. That said, it did outperform pre-pandemic 2019 for both net revenue and gross operating profit, suggesting that this could be part of a cycle of stabilization.”