Dennis Gomes‘ comeback trail at Resorts Atlantic City (left) finally hit a wall in May. The recovering casino was 4% off last year’s pace, although that’s above-average performance in market that took another thwack last month, down 9%. The feeble end of the Donald Trump era at what is now the Golden Nugget demonstrated the challenge ahead of new owner Tilman Fertitta: $11 million, -18% even from last year’s paltry tally. Trump Plaza remains in free fall, down 25%. Only the Bally’s Wild Wild West/Claridge behemoth (-16%) had a worse plunge in terms of sheer dollars, down $6.2 million, as opposed to the Plaza’s $4.3 million declivity. Caesars Atlantic City (-1%) defied the trend best of anybody.
At the tables, players wagered less and casinos won less (drop and win both -10%), and poker play appears to have dried up rather badly. Punters had a good month at the slots, although Borgata was able to report higher coin-in and only a modest (2%) decline in winnings. Boyd Gaming got beaten at the tables, however, down 12%. If you’re a glass-half-full person, there’s consolation in the fact that a total table-game wipeout (to the tune of $11 million) made only a single-digit dent in the Tropicana Atlantic City‘s revenues.
The metric that’s most troubling involves “seasonality” of play. Normally, S&G doesn’t bother much with sequential comparisons. However, in the March-May period of 2010, revenue increased by $19 million as the weather warmed. This year it rose only $10 million. We’re getting into the meat-and-potatoes months of the Boardwalk and a flattening trajectory isn’t what one wants to see.
Things are looking up for the Pennsylvania casinos of Neil Bluhm. Although both Rivers Casino (above) and SugarHouse looked like costly curiosities at first, they’re gaining traction with Keystone State customers. In a month where slot revenues were generally “blah,” Rivers posted a 17% improvement. No year/year comparison are available for brand-new SugarHouse but it’s taking chunks out of the hides of Harrah’s Chester Downs (-11%) and even player favorite Parx Casino (-13%). Bluhm’s belated gains are encouraging for those who, as a matter of principle, invest in the tortoise rather than the hare.
1 Picture = 1,000 Words Dept.: The very definition of a douchebag, as captured on film by Jaime Edmondson. The scene of the crime is unidentified but circumstantial evidence points to The Palms, a notorious magnet for wandering bags of douche (like tumbleweeds, only uglier).
