Atlantic City Struggling To Maintain Status As Top Poker Destination

In 2012, a tanking Atlantic City gaming market pinned its recovery hopes on the brand new $2.4 billion Revel Hotel and Casino, but the boardwalk property struggled right out of the gates, filing for bankruptcy twice and ultimately deciding to close it’s doors this summer if a buyer isn’t found.

The possible closure isn’t that shocking considering the state of the rest of the casinos in the city. The Atlantic Club Casino closed in January, the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino is scheduled to close in September, and the Showboat Hotel and Casino could follow suit if Caesars Entertainment can’t find anyone willing to take over operations.

The fact that four of New Jersey’s 12 casinos could be closing within a period of just nine months is a near death sentence for Atlantic City. If Revel can’t recover, then all four properties will have put more than 8,000 workers out of a job.

The news is grim for a market that has dealt with over-saturation and an increase in competition from neighboring states. New Jersey was at one point the second largest casino market in the U.S. behind Las Vegas, but has since been passed by Pennsylvania.

The state brought in just $3.051 billion last year, down from a high of $5.219 billion in 2006. State officials are so panicked that lawmakers are considering forcing the casinos to remain open until the end of the year in an effort to find buyers. The city will lose about $75 million in property tax revenue should all four casinos cease operating.

So what do these closures mean for poker in Atlantic City?

It took a just over a year for Revel to give up on its poker room. The 37-table room was ranked eighth of nine at the time, bringing in just $90,000 in revenue per month.

The Trump Taj Mahal (62) and Golden Nugget (10) have reduced their tables by 8 and 10 each. Caesars Palace has shut down their room entirely, opting instead to join forces with the neighboring Bally’s Casino to form a single 65-table room.

The 24-table Showboat poker room will be gone with the rest of the casino, meaning that in a span of just one year, nearly 20 percent of the poker tables in the city will have disappeared, reducing the number from 343 to 279. There would now be more poker tables in markets like Los Angeles (575), Las Vegas (544), South Florida (418) and Oklahoma (325), dropping Atlantic City to fifth place overall.

The good news is that the Borgata Hotel and Casino continues to be one of the most dominant poker rooms in the country. Although they have reduced their number of tables from 85 to 75 for space considerations, the room still brings in nearly $1.5 million in revenue each month.

The Borgata is home to the World Poker Tour Championship, taking it from the Bellagio in Las Vegas this past season. Atlantic City also hosts the WSOP Circuit and numerous regional tournament series.

Additionally, online poker hasn’t quite yet met expectations in New Jersey, but the $2 million per month in revenue is still nearly three times that of Nevada.

Here is a look at the number of poker tables in each of Atlantic City’s casinos in 2012 when Revel first opened and the number of tables that could be operating later this summer.

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