An extra month helped Atlantic City post a banner April, up 6%. Citywide, 5% higher slot handle produced a corresponding increase in revenue, while 4.5% table-game wagering 
translated into 10% more winnings for the house. Borgata ($56 million) was up 4.5%, riding its slot win. Table players wagered 7% less and the house won 14% less. At the slots, however, Borgata was able to ride 12% higher coin-in to a 13% revenue gain. Borgata also continues to lead the market in Internet-gambling market share (23.5%), although Resorts Atlantic City — thanks to PokerStars — is now a serious contender, with 20.5%. In fact, the market is pretty evenly divided between all five players, with Caesars Interactive holding 19%, nipping at the heels of the Golden Nugget (19.5%), while Tropicana Entertainment hangs in there with 18%.
As for traditional casino games, despite a 4% drop in revenue, Trump Taj Mahal ($15 million) managed to stay out of last place, occupied by Resorts ($14 million, +14%), while Golden Nugget’s 16% gain was good for a $17 million gross. As for the Caesars Entertainment threesome, Harrah’s Resort was down 1% but still led the trio with $19 million. Bally’s continues to gain traction, up 12% to $18 million. Caesars Atlantic City ($25 million, +10%) held the middle ground. Tropicana Atlantic City gained 9% for a healthy $25 million. Say what you like about Atlantic City’s civic finances: Its casinos have definitely gotten it together.
* With the conspicuous exception of Illinois, which was flat (I blame the slot routes), all the Upper Midwest casino states did quite well last month. Add Iowa to the tally, 8% up year/year — 5.5% when newbie Wild Rose Jefferson is subtracted from the mix. Of all 
the various operators, Isle of Capri Casinos led the pack with a 5%. For instance, Isle Casino & Hotel at Waterloo was 9% higher, leading the Isle archipelago. Boyd Gaming‘s pair of Diamond Jo-branded properties (Dubuque and Worth) were 3% improved last month, while Ameristar Council Bluff ($15 million) enjoyed an almost 5% lift. The two Caesars Entertainment properties went in opposite directions, with Harrah’s Council Bluffs down 2.5% ($6 million) and Horseshoe Casino & Bluffs Run Park ($16 million) up 6%. Rival racino Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino was tops in the state, grossing $17 million, an 8.5% increase.
Golden Entertainment‘s Terrible’s Lakeside was flat, at $4 million, while the most spectacular gain was at Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City ($8 million), vaulting 22%. Aside from Harrah’s, the only casino to post a revenue-negative month was Grand Falls Casino Resort ($5 million), off 3%.
* The American Gaming Association reports that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is “open” to the idea of moving the [your city here] Raiders to Las Vegas. (Too bad that Jones was also open to ill-advised plastic surgery that left him permanently disfigured.) However, Jones is a maverick among NFL owners, and more-respected figures like John Mara remain opposed. Considering the wild proliferation of sports betting in the league’s preferred overseas market — London — it’s difficult to understand why team owners get their knickers in a twist over sports books in Las Vegas.
* MGM Resorts International has pushed the start of its paid parking on the Las Vegas Strip to June 6 — beginning with New York-New York, Bellagio, Aria, Vdara and Monte Carlo, and culminating with Mandalay Bay and Delano on June 13. Nevadans can avoid the fees, at least for the time time, through a complicated formula that requires close study. Although admittedly taken aback by the firestorm of criticism MGM has drawn, CEO Jim Murren is holding firm, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “We took an amenity that had been free for decades and decided to charge for it. We knew that would cause a tremendous amount of discussion.” That has to count as the understatement of the year.
* TV news correspondent Ed Henry got married in Las Vegas — at Wynn Las Vegas — and his nuptials may come unraveled here as well. Henry is alleged to have taken a mistress in the form of Sapphire Gentleman’s Club stripper Natalia Lima (an assumed name). Henry has gone into seclusion, to patch up his marriage to National Public Radio Editor Shirley Hung, while Lima’s friends and co-workers are putting out conflicting reports of just how deeply she and Henry were involved. Sure, it’s tawdry and entertaining, but also almost too cliched for words.
