As the song goes, Atlantic City didn't know what it had until it was gone. In 2006, the city's casinos brought in more than $5.2 billion in gaming revenue. In 2014, that number was down almost 50 percent, to $2.7 billion, and expected to fall even further in 2015, the first full year of operations following the closures of four casinos – Atlantic Club, Revel, Showboat and Trump Plaza.
Pennsylvania casinos, on the other hand, experienced their highest total gaming revenue of $3.15 billion in 2012. Gaming revenues declined slightly in the Keystone State during each of the next two years, down to just over $3 billion in 2014, but despite the recent declines, Pennsylvania remains the second largest gaming market in the nation, next to Nevada. It is from this point of strength that Pennsylvania needs to recognize what it's got and not repeat the mistakes of its neighbor to the east.
So how did New Jersey allow its casino market to fall so far? Clearly the loss of New Jersey's East Coast monopoly on gaming — as a result of the advent of casino gaming in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania — did not help. But this increased competition did not seal Atlantic City's fate; rather, its fate was sealed during the preceding decades when Atlantic City casino operators failed to improve their properties and make Atlantic City a true and viable destination. Instead of making necessary capital expenditures and adding resort amenities, casino owners upstreamed profits while their properties slowly became outdated. The result was a city full of mostly unexciting casinos that offered little more than the slots-in-box style options found in neighboring states.
To read the full article, please visit the Philadelphia Business Journal website.
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