Atlantic City Casino Revenue Down 13.6% In June

Atlantic City's painful losing streak continues as its casinos reported revenue of $322.7 million in June, a 13.6% decrease over the same month a year ago, said the New Jersey Casino Control Commission Friday.

The numbers, while somewhat better than May's 15.4% drop, extend a downward trend for the gambling haven's 11 casinos, which have struggled to remain competitive amid a recession and mass defection of gamblers to newer slot parlors in Pennsylvania and New York. A new casino in Bethlehem, Pa., by gaming giant Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is shaping up to be a major threat to the island town given it's less than 100 miles away from New York City.

For the first six months of the year, Atlantic City casinos generated $1.94 billion in revenue, down 15.3% from the same period in 2008. Atlantic City industry suffered a 24.6% drop in gross operating profits in 2008.

Borgata Hotel and Casino, jointly owned by Boyd Gaming Corp. (BYD) and MGM Mirage (MGM), had the smallest decline as its casino revenue decreased 4.2% to $57.8 million in June compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the biggest decline continued to be at the Atlantic City Hilton, which saw revenue drop 24% to $15 million last month.

-By A.D. Pruitt, Dow Jones Newswires, 212-416-2197,[e-mail]