Atlantic City Making Money Again After Closing Multiple Casinos
By David Madden
ATLANTIC CITY (CBS) -- A bit of good news for a change for Atlantic City's eight casinos. They're making money again.
Call it survival of the fittest, as gross operating profits for the still open gaming halls rose last year by 44 percent. Take taxes and other expenses out and the profit margin was still 12 percent.
So what turned the tide? Roger Gros of Global Gaming Business Magazine chimes in.
"We knew that the market was over-saturated, so we've reduced some of the supply and the demand hasn't gone away. So I think the profits are really the result of the four casinos closing."
But two of them, the Revel and Showboat, are likely to come back as smaller venues. And Gros fears that could create a new glut, although he's anxious to see what Hard Rock can do as an operator if, as many expect, they're brought in by developer Glenn Straub to run either one.