Please disregard the headlines today whining about Atlantic City casino grosses for December. They are 8% higher than 2022 and 11.5% than 2019, before the Great Pandemic supposedly drove everyone home—and into the arms of these same casinos’ Web alternatives. The brick-and-mortar tally was $232.5 million. We often treat the three Caesars Entertainment casinos almost as an afterthought (as do customers), so we should give them pride of place when discussing December’s data. Tropicana Atlantic City (pictured) leapt 15% to $21 million and Caesars Atlantic City jumped 13% to $19 million. Harrah’s Resort couldn’t quite keep pace, up 3% but making $21 million.
Even those numbers put each individual Caesars casino well in the shade of the Boardwalk’s top echelon. Borgata raked in $59 million, despite a 3% dip. Perhaps that business was lost to Hard Rock Atlantic City, which rocketed 20% ahead to $45 million, while Ocean Casino Resort was leaping 12.5% upward to $33 million. All of the three also-rans also made gains, with Resorts Atlantic City hopping 11% to $12.5 million. Bally’s Atlantic City gained 5% to just stay of out last place, with $11.5 million, while Golden Nugget (below) was up a point to $11 million. Only Borgata, you’ll note, was revenue-negative.
Internet casinos were led by DraftKings with a bully $55 million, trailed by BetMGM ($40.5 million), FanDuel ($21 million), Caesars Digital ($16 million) and others for an overall haul of $180 million. Sports betting jumped 25% to $109.5 million of revenue on handle of $1.3 billion. FanDuel was out front with $48.5 million. Then came DraftKings ($33.5 million), BetMGM ($7 million), ESPN Bet ($3 million), Caesars Sportsbook ($2 million) and sundry negligible entrants.
Atlantic City casino workers, meanwhile, are to rally today against New Jersey‘s continued permission of smoking in gambling halls. They’re planning to highlight the disconnect between present-day, record casino revenues and the mere 12% of Americans who smoke. The Casino Association of New Jersey, meanwhile, is pushing back with threats of 2,500 job cuts and $44 million less in Garden State tax revenue. They know how to hit lawmakers where it hurts. Such arguments remain likely to prevail over the common sense of people like slot guru Brian Christopher. “People are not driving or flying to a casino to have a cigarette,” he snorted to one media outlet. At least A.C. employees can take comfort in knowing they’re far from alone in their umbrage.
Super-low hold (5%) drove down sports wagering winnings for Illinois casinos last November. They grossed a lean $73 million (-25%), despite a 34% surge in betting. Parlay wagers remain sucker bets, accounting for 62% of revenue. DraftKings outpaced FanDuel, $29 million to $23 million. ESPN Bet surged into third place with $8 million, followed by BetRivers ($6.5 million) and BetMGM ($2 million), with Caesars Sportsbook well below the $1 million mark. Caesars’ digital team talks a good game but one wonders how long they can justify such meager numbers.