Atlantic City Loses Summer Gamble

The 11 casinos were down 16.3 percent in revenue. That beats their June decline of 14 percent, and July decrease of 13 percent. By far, making it the worst summer performance for Atlantic City in its 31-year gambling history.

The casinos reported $391.7 million in revenue, down from $468.3 million in August 2008, according to figures released today by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

Every gambling house in town reported revenue declines, helping to make what usually Atlantic City's most lucrative season of the year a bust.

Even the revenue-leading Borgata reported a double-digit decline of 11.2 percent to $77.2 million. But eight other casinos had bigger percentage decreases. The Trump Plaza had the most severe monthly drop at 29.6 percent.

Only Resorts, which dropped 7.8 percent, and the Tropicana's 6.9 percent decrease, were lower than the Borgata's.

Meanwhile, a new $780 million casino in Pittsburgh helped spur a nearly 20 percent increase in slots revenue for Pennsylvania in the same month. The Rivers Casino, which opened on Pittsburgh's North Shore Aug. 9, took in $16.2 million for the month.

But cannibalization is clearly setting in. Of the seven Pennsylvania slots houses that have been open at least a year, five showed revenue declines last month.

PhiladelphiaPark Casino and Racetrack in Bensalem - the state's leading casino in terms of revenue and which will roll out a bigger facility in mid-December with 30 percent more slot machines - was down 4 percent from August 2008.

Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, which debuted May 22 and generated $20.2 million in gross slots revenue last month, has taken a chunk of business from at least two nearby Pennsylvania competitors. Mount Airy Resort and Casino, located 40 miles from the Sands, was down the most among the state's nine gambling halls with a 19.2 percent drop, while Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs was down nearly 5 percent.

Pennsylvania, which now has just over 24,300 slot machines statewide and has no dealer-staffed table games, taxes gross slots revenue 55 percent. Most of the money goes toward property tax relief, local governments, and aiding the state's horse racing industry.

New Jersey has a 9.25 percent tax on slot machine and table game revenue that is applied toward a variety of government programs, including a prescription program for seniors, as well as projects approved by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.

But as monthly gambling revenues continue to slide in Atlantic City, so does that amount going to the state.

For the first eight months of the year, the Atlantic City casinos generated $2.7 billion in revenue, down 15.1 percent from the same period in 2008.

Justin Anderson, 35, from Manhattan, recently visited the Trump Taj Mahal on the Boardwalk and exemplified what the casinos there were up against.

The construction manager used to frequent Atlantic City once a week, when work was flush. Now he comes only occasionally. That afternoon Anderson got up from a $25 limit blackjack table to roam for a lower limit one.

"Maybe a $20 or $15 table, if I can find one," he said.

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G

Gut Shot - To draw to and/or hit an inside straight.

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F

Fifth Street - Also known as the "river" card. In flop games, this represents the fifth community card on the table and the final round of betting. In Stud games, this is the fifth card dealt to each player and represents the third round of betting.
Five-card Draw - A poker game in which the player is dealt five cards down. They have one draw to replace them and the best high hand wins the pot.
Five-card Stud - A poker game in which each player is dealt five cards, one down and four up, with betting after 2, 3, 4, & 5 cards.
Flat Call - Calling a bet without raising.
Flop - In Holdʼem and Omaha, the first three community cards that are dealt face-up in the center of the table all at one time. The "flop" also indicates the second round of betting.
Flop Games - Poker games (Hold ʻem and Omaha) that are played using community cards that are dealt face up in the center of the table.
Floorman - An employee of the cardroom who makes rulings and decisions.
Flush - Any five cards of the same suit.
Flush Draw - When a player has four cards in his hand of the same suit and is hoping to draw a fifth to make a flush.
Fold - To throw your hand away when itʼs your turn to act.
Forced Bet - A required bet that starts the action on the first round of a poker hand.
Four of a Kind - Four cards of the same number or face value ("quads").
Fourth Street - In flop games, it is the fourth community card dealt (also known as "the turn") and represents the third round of betting. In Stud games, it is the fourth card dealt to each player and represents the second round of betting.
Full House - Any three cards of the same number or face value, plus any other two cards of the same number or face value.

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