Any financial manager worth his salt will tell you that while a business’s revenue figures are important, ultimately, gross operating profit is king.
And on Monday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement crowned Borgata as the king of first-quarter profits in the Atlantic City casino industry with $45.9 million.
But these days, almost everyone is a winner in Atlantic City (gamblers aside). The $155.6 million in combined profits for the nine casinos is higher than any first-quarter numbers in the previous eight years, which is how far back the DGE website’s numbers go.
COVID-hampered 2020 and 2021 led to just $29.7 million and $95.5 million in profits in the first three months, respectively. In 2019, with the new Hard Rock and Ocean casinos not even a year old, first-quarter profits were $87 million. A year earlier, with only seven casinos open in the first half of the year, the figure was $123.6 million. The 2017 figure was $139.9 million, topping the 2016 mark of $106.6 million.
With the existence of 12 casinos for much of 2014, the rivals combined for $38.8 million. When four of them closed their doors that fall, profits by the survivors rose to a collective $81.3 million in 2015.