NJ Casino News: Weekly Roundup

Get the latest casino news and updates in New Jersey for this week (June 12, 2021 – June 18, 2021)

AC Casinos Still Growing Their Online Audience

New Jersey online casinos are still doing great business, even with brick and mortar casinos having all reopened. According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, internet gambling brought in more than $108 million of revenue in May, up nearly 26% from last May:

Jane Bokunewicz, director of a gambling and tourism institute at Stockton University, expects in-person gambling revenue to increase over the summer.

“Headed into the peak summer months, we should expect to see brick and mortar casino gaming continue to reclaim revenue share from online gambling as patrons flock to Atlantic City’s beaches and iconic boardwalk,” she said. “It will be interesting to see how these two revenue streams balance each other long-term as the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic wanes.”

Springtime Surge in AC Casinos

Atlantic City’s nine brick and mortar casinos reported amazing profits between April and May, thanks to reopening just ahead of Memorial Day. Casinos have been doing well not just online in New Jersey but also in sports betting and on the casino floors:

Atlantic City’s nine brick and mortar casinos won $189.6 million on the floor in April, compared to $213 million in May. Total gaming revenue climbed from $320.6 million in April to $337.2 million in May.

James Plousis, who heads another state regulatory body, the Casino Control Commission, said in a June 16 statement that the May numbers were “promising,” and that they were “an indication that tourists are returning to Atlantic City.”

Atlantic City Convention Center Reopens to the Public

On June 11, Mayor Marty Small Sr. joined members of the Atlantic City Convention Center and Meet AC to officially reopen the center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. This helped lend some pomp and circumstance to Sunday’s ImportExpo event and showed hope for the area to get more big event business once again:

Because of the pandemic, the convention center only hosted 21 events in 2020 compared to 87 in 2019. In April, a number of county and local officials gathered at Kennedy Plaza urging the governor to allow industry operations to resume. County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick said at the time that conventions and trade shows bring in $2 billion for the city annually.

Bally’s Atlantic City to Move Forward With Renovations

Ownership had already pledged to invest at least $90 million into their property over the next five years, but they’re already adding live entertainment and restaurants. The company’s executive vice president of casino operations and chief marketing officer admitted that things at the property had been in bad shape, but they believe they’ll be able to make Bally’s a top Atlantic City casino once more:

A renovation of the casino floor, new slot machines and table games are among early priorities. On Monday, electricians were working on long strands of wiring, handymen removing outdated signs from walls, and old slot machine stools sitting in a soon-to-be discarded pile, the Associated Press reports.

Bally’s is adding restaurants, including an Italian eatery that opened a few weeks ago. And its complete inventory of more than 1,200 hotel rooms will be redone as well. A FanDuel-branded sportsbook opened last March.