Atlantic City casino profits spike in Q1

ating profits of the Atlantic City casino industry went up to 2.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, with total revenue rising to $802.6 million, according to the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Operating profit increased more than 31%, rising from $81.3m Q1 2015 to $106.5m for Q1 this year.

All but one of the eight surviving casinos of Atlantic City (the Trump Taj Mahal, which still cut its losses in half) reported increasing gross operating profits.

Tropicana Atlantic City saw a big jump in its profits, soaring from $2.4 million in the first half of its financial year in 2015 to more than $7.3 million this year.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, the market leader in Atlantic City, saw the biggest single rise in its profits, increasing 25% to $9.2 million.

Matthew Levinson, the state Casino Control Commission chairman, commented this stark boost: "More people spent the night and they spent more money here than they did last year. Revenues are up, third-party sales are up, occupancy is up and the average room rate is up".

For Levinson, the quarterly results demonstrated "another sign of the increasing health of Atlantic City's casino industry" as the city recovers from massive losses and the closure of four of its casinos in 2014.