ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - A fifth Saturday courtesy of Leap Day, and a wave of bets on the Super Bowl helped New Jersey’s gambling industry to a revenue increase of more than 19% in February compared to a year ago.
Figures released Thursday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the Atlantic City casinos and the two racetracks that offer sports betting collectively took in $287.3 million in February, up 19.1% from February 2019.
The numbers were helped by the fact that in this leap year, when an extra day is added to the calendar at the end of February, fell on a Saturday, the busiest day op the week for casinos.
New Jerseyans also wagered $494.8 million on sports during the month, which included bets in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, as well as during the game. It was the fourth-largest monthly total in New jersey since legal sports betting began in June 2018.
“Revenue from slots, table games, internet wagering, and sports wagering all grew,” said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. “Internet wagering results were prominent, and sports wagering handle already surpassed $1 billion for the year. These gaming options are providing important revenue streams while broadening the industry’s appeal.”
Seven of the nine casinos reported increases in revenue compared to their levels a year ago. The Ocean Casino Resort was up more than 42% to $21.3 million. Its casino floor revenue went up 51% but it suffered a decline of 11.7% in internet gambling.
“February was an incredibly strong month for the property,” said Terry Glebocki, Ocean’s CEO, citing the extra Saturday and mild weather during the month as contributing factors. “We continue to see strength in our slot business, which increased 88% for the month.”
The Golden Nugget was up 33% to $35.4 million; Borgata was up 22.2% to $66.4 million; Hard Rock was up 17.7% to nearly $27 million; Harrah’s was up 9.8% to $26.4 million; Tropicana was up 9.2% to $30 million; and Caesars was up 7% to $20.8 million.
Bally’s was down 6.5% to $12.1 million, and Resorts was down 2.2% to $14.5 million.
The Meadowlands racetrack in East Rutherford, just outside new York City, dominates New Jersey’s sports betting market. It took in nearly $11 million in sports betting revenue. Monmouth Park in Oceanport, near the Jersey Shore, took in $1.2 million. Collectively, the casinos and those two tracks saw just over $17 million in sports betting revenue in February.
Internet gambling revenue was nearly $52 million, up 63.7% from a year ago.
Despite the encouraging numbers, March’s numbers may not be so rosy. There won’t be a fifth weekend day in March, and the effect of the coronavirus is likely to be felt in the upcoming numbers.
Within the last few days, the NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer suspended their seasons, and on Thursday, a slew of college basketball conferences canceled their championship tournaments, including one game that was canceled at halftime.
Those shutdowns are sure to be felt in March sports book revenues, and an unknown number of people are likely to have decided against visiting a casino during the virus outbreak. It remains to be seen if internet gambling numbers will spike in March for that reason.
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