By
Mike J. Davies
Editor in Chief at Casinos.US Updated: 09/07/2020
Mike is our Senior Editor and experienced gambling strategist. A former hockey player, he transitioned to the casino industry after finishing his B.A. in English. Blackjack systems, online casino guides, gambling terms, and more – Mike is familiar with all fine points of gambling.
Atlantic City Casinos Post Huge Losses in Second Quarter
Brick-and-mortar casinos in Atlantic City – long seen as the capital of gambling in the east of the US – have posted huge losses for the second quarter of 2020, as their businesses were ravaged by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data shows that casinos in the city saw a year-on-year decrease of 170.4% during the second quarter of this year. Net revenue was reported as $121.4 million, which meant that the casinos made a huge total loss of $112 million over the three months.
Of course, the fact that COVID-19 effectively shut down large parts of the world during the second quarter of 2020 is the main reason for the huge losses posted by casinos in the city. Gov. Phil Murphy was particularly strict with his lockdown though, fearing an influx of cases from neighboring New York City, which for a long while was the epicenter of the virus in the US.
Murphy eventually allowed casinos to reopen on July 2nd, however things were very different from before, with venues having to cut capacity and not offer dining, amongst other things. This is something that has also happened in most other states throughout the country, including the casinos on Las Vegas’ famous Strip.
Those associated with gambling in Atlantic City will now be hoping that things will start to improve over the next few months. As already mentioned, casinos are now open, albeit with certain limitations in place, and this is allowing the venues to at least claw some of the money back that they’ve lost this year.
James Plousis, of the Casino Control Commission, was full of praise for the way in which casinos have handled the reopening of their doors, saying that their efforts would help the casino industry to bounce back. He stated:
During this period, the casinos undertook an amazing effort and expense to prepare a safe environment for the return of employees and guests. That critical investment enabled the casinos to begin welcoming back visitors with appropriate limits in July, and started Atlantic City on the road to recovery.
It is likely that casinos will be operating under strict measures for a while yet, as the threat of COVID-19 still hasn’t disappeared. Casinos will be hopeful that there won’t be any more closures forced by any future outbreaks of the virus.
While brick-and-mortar casinos in New Jersey have been hit hard, online casinos have been flourishing. With gamblers unable to get out and gamble, they have turned to the various games offered online. Online casinos reported profits of $87.5 million in June alone, with the largest share of the money going to Golden Nugget Atlantic City, the leader in online gambling in the state.
Even since the brick-and-mortar casinos have been allowed to reopen, online gambling has remained popular. Many people now simply prefer playing casino games from the comfort of their own home, while others are still too concerned about the virus to head out to one of the casinos in Atlantic City.
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