July was Atlantic City's best month in the 26 years since gambling was legalized in New Jersey.
The city's 12 casinos reported $505 million in revenue in July - a 6.5 percent increase over the same month a year ago - and they are on pace to surpass the $4.8 billion that they generated last year.
Five casinos set individual monthly records: the Borgata, Caesars, Harrah's, Showboat and Tropicana.
Larry A. Klatzkin, managing director of Jefferies & Co. Inc., said the casinos benefited from having five solid weekends last month.
He said July had one more Sunday than the previous year. The month had five Fridays, five Saturdays and five Sundays. Last year, it had five Fridays and five Saturdays, but only four Sundays.
"Just that alone, even if everything else is flat, should be worth a couple of percent," Klatzkin said.
The two-year-old Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa led the pack and took in $66.8 million in total revenue - a 19.3 percent increase from last year. It edged out Bally's, which had $65.5 million in revenue for the month.
"It was another tremendous month for us and for the market," Borgata chief executive officer Robert L. Boughner said. "We led the month without having to add incremental capital investment."
Business at cross-town rival Tropicana continued to be strong. Its $285 million retail and entertainment complex, called The Quarter, helped generate double-digit revenue gains for the casino over the last three months. Tropicana posted a 31 percent increase in revenue for July, and finished sixth overall in total revenue among the 12 casinos.
Dave Jonas, regional president for Harrah's Entertainment Inc., said he was heartened to see that higher gas prices, with gas currently at $2.50 a gallon, did not hurt business. Three of the four casinos that broke individual records belonged to Harrah's: Showboat, Harrah's and Caesars. Harrah's also owns Bally's on the Boardwalk.
"All the new attractions are having an impact," Jonas said. "It's really an amenities-driven market right now."
Klatzkin said that among the nongambling attractions that were drawing more visitors to the casinos and pushing revenue figures up were the new hotel tower at Resorts; the Quarter at Tropicana; Nikki Beach, one of the trendy beach bars that have sprung up along the Boardwalk; and House of Blues at Showboat.
"Definitely, these are things that the companies have done to draw more people in," Klatzkin said. "It's going to be a record summer."
Revenue figures released yesterday by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission showed that the casinos took in $376.1 million from slot machines and $128.7 million in table games. Those amounts represent money that gamblers lost.
But the rate of increase in table-game revenue - 10.2 percent - was nearly double that of slots revenue, at 5.3 percent.
The Borgata led the casinos in table-game revenue at $23.9 million, up almost 34 percent and far ahead of No. 2 Trump Taj Mahal, with $17.9 million. The Borgata took in $42.8 million in slots, behind slots leader Bally's, with $50.3 million.
Borgata chief operating officer Larry Mullin said his casino's concert lineup helped to fuel the numbers. "We had 26 shows for July," he said. "No other venue in North America had the calendar of entertainment that we did."
Two of the three Trump properties, which recently emerged from bankruptcy and hired new upper management, also had a good month. Trump Taj Mahal, Donald Trump's flagship property in Atlantic City, showed a 5.3 percent increase in total revenue, while Trump Marina edged up 3.0 percent. But revenue at Trump Plaza was stagnant at $31 million (roulette online).
The new nightclubs and headliner entertainment are part of the resort's bid to fortify itself against slots competition from neighboring states, including Pennsylvania, which legalized gambling last year.
Early next year, Pennsylvania racetracks may start getting conditional licenses to set up temporary slots parlors.
Michael Pollock, publisher of the trade journal Gaming Industry Observer, said the numbers showed the payoff from the moves made by the casinos. "All of these elements are incremental, but, collectively, we are seeing the impact," he said. "Atlantic City is clearly on the upswing."?