Atlantic City casino revenue down almost 10 percent

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- As reported by the Press of Atlantic City: "J. Carlos Tolosa kept repeating the D-word to describe October revenue figures for Atlantic City's 11 casinos.

"'These are dismal numbers. I think we're in for tough times ahead,' the Harrah's Entertainment Inc. executive said. 'The overall market is dismal.'

"Tolosa, who oversees Harrah's four Atlantic City casinos, made no attempt to sugarcoat the latest batch of bad news for an industry mired in a prolonged slump in a sluggish economy.

"Figures released Monday by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission showed a 9.9 percent revenue decline for October. The total casino 'win' from slot machines and table games was $346.2 million.

"As dreary as October was, it represented an improvement over the 15.1 percent nosedive in September, the biggest monthly revenue decline in the city's 30-year history of casino gambling.

"'There's very little positive you can see from these numbers. It's pretty dismal,' Tolosa said.

"Nine of the casinos posted declines in October, with eight of them down by double-digit margins. The worst performers were Trump Marina Hotel Casino, down 29.3 percent, and Resorts Atlantic City, off 28.7 percent. The Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort and Showboat Casino Hotel also saw their revenue plunge by more than 20 percent.

"In the first 10 months this year, casino revenue declined 6.6 percent, to $3.9 billion. It is all but certain that 2008 will be the second straight year of lower revenue. Tolosa predicted that 2008's final figure will be about a 7.5 percent to 8 percent decline..."

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