As if we needed a reminder as to why the likes of Donald Trump are finding life so difficult in the casino industry, figures from Atlantic City revealed the worst monthly fall on record with casinos winning $302 million from gamblers in December, a fall of 18.7%. This significantly overshadows the previous biggest monthly decline of 15.1% which was also set in 2008 in the month of September. So what next?
The annual fall in winnings for the Atlantic City casino sector in 2008 was 7.6% compared to the previous year. When you consider there was also a reduction in the win figure in 2007, against an increasing figure year on year between 1978 (when casinos were first legalised in Atlantic City) and 2006 this really does perfectly reflect the very difficult market conditions. We have already seen the likes of Donald Trump suggest that his business could be up for sale as debts continue to mount and Chapter 11 could be looming.
Trump is not the only casino operator in Atlantic City who is finding times tough although he does tend to take the vast majority of the headlines. With no immediate recovery in sight many expect 2009 to be as difficult a year as 2008, if not worse, with further financial restraint and cost-cutting required.
As if we needed a reminder as to why the likes of Donald Trump are finding life so difficult in the casino industry, figures from Atlantic City revealed the worst monthly fall on record with casinos winning $302 million from gamblers in December, a fall of 18.7%. This significantly overshadows the previous biggest monthly decline of 15.1% which was also set in 2008 in the month of September. So what next?