New era in Atlantic City

Atlantic City is already feeling the benefits from the double-barreled openings of Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort. While June’s gambling revenues were up 1.5% on a same-store basis, add the newcomers and the increase is 5%. (Both casinos opened a day early, helping their tally.) Ocean Resort recorded an impressive $3 million in four days, rivaling Hard Rock Atlantic City’s $4 million clip. Borgata needn’t lose any sleep but if Hard Rock can maintain its initial tempo it will rival Tropicana Atlantic City for the #2 spot, while Ocean Resort will be on pace to gross $270 million in its first 12 months of operation, very strong if short of Bruce Deifik‘s $292 million prediction, occupying a solid, middle-of-the-pack niche.

Harrah’s Resort took a 6% dive (to $30 million), indicating just who has the most to fear from the new kids on the block. Oddly, the only other casinos to lose business were low-rollers Bally’s ($17.5 million, -3.5%) and Resorts Atlantic City ($16.5 million, -2%), tightening its stranglehold on last place. Borgata shrugged off the new competition, grossing $61 million, a 2% gain, while Tropicana, with $31 million (an 8% gain) was the undisputed runner-up. Caesars Atlantic City was utterly flat at slightly under $25 million, while Golden Nugget vaulted 14% to $20.5 million. Slot revenues were up 7% (mainly at the debutants) while table winnings were basically flat. Sports betting was no panacea: Borgata grossed just shy of $1 million in 16 days, while Ocean Resort averaged $48K/day.

PR man Zack Hall rather defensively wrote that “the best is yet to come.” When Monmouth Park is added, the tally rises to $3.5 million in revenue on $16.5 million wagered. Hall called this “better than expected.” Predicted sports-betting analyst Dustin Gouker, “Total amount wagered and revenue will increase exponentially as more casinos and racetracks begin to offer wagering, and as online betting kicks off later this summer and into the fall.” In other words, punters aren’t beating a path to the few places where they can have a fiddle on sports. Gouker rightly stressed the importance of mobile betting (still under regulatory quarantine) to the total picture, urging a wait-and-see attitude until NFL season enters the picture … which won’t be long now.

Among those yet to enter the fray is Meadowlands Racetrack, which will put the brand equity of FanDuel to the test in a new partnership. The former is rolling out a FanDuel-run sportsbook with 10 tellers and 27 TVs. The hope of track owner Jeff Gural is that New York Giants and New York Jets fans will cut short their tailgating to stop by the book and lay down some bets. He’s even offering shuttle service to MetLife Stadium for free. The NFL wouldn’t comment on the deal but stadium officials may try to impose some conditions on Gural and FanDuel. The acid test will come August 9 when the woebegone Giants host the even more hapless Cleveland Browns in an otherwise meaningless preseason game.

“It’s clear sports betting is a pretty big hit off the bat for New Jersey,” Gouker insisted. “The initial numbers show bettors are turning up in droves to try out legal sports betting options in the state. And while the bottom-line revenue is good, this also means more people are and will be visiting the state’s tracks and casinos, which will obviously be a boon for their businesses.”

Internet casinos continued to pull their weight, grossing almost $23 million last month. Perhaps with a nod to the two newcomers in Atlantic City, columnist Steve Ruddock wrote, “Milestones such as $30 million in monthly revenue and $1 billion in lifetime revenue are within reach. The online gambling industry remains a growing force in New Jersey.” Trenton will be happy to hear that, having banked over $24 million in ‘Net-driven tax revenue by mid-year. Golden Nugget continues to dominate the scene, grossing $8.5 million in ‘Net winnings in June.

* Detroit casinos grossed $120 million last month, with MGM Grand Detroit up 11% to $52 million, MotorCity and Greektown each gaining 4.5%. The former grossed $39 million and the latter $28 million. That’s pretty impressive for a market that was not so long ago being written off as doomed.