Borgata yields to Bally�s as top earner in AC

May 12

The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper is reporting that for the very first time since it opened three years ago, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa was not Atlantic City's number one earner. Bally's bested the Borgata in revenue earnings last month, marking the end of the Borgata�s reign as Atlantic City�s top casino.

Atlantic City has had a rough time wooing visitors due to the fact that so many of its surrounding states have legalized certain forms of gambling. Online casinos are so popular as well. Trips to Vegas are cheap and Vegas has seen record amounts of visitors just about every single month for a few years now. The Borgata was long believed to be the best thing that has happened to Atlantic City for a long time. This setback to Bally�s earning for last month are not the end of things for the Borgata in any way, but it is interesting that the casino and spa resort has taken a back seat the Bally�s Atlantic City.

According to information released on the 10th of May by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, in April, the one dozen casinos that are in operation in Atlantic City did generate $440.2 million for an increase of 4% from April 2005.

Alone, Bally's produced $59.1 million in total revenues. This was an increase of almost 10% over April 2005�s earnings. The Borgata fell slightly with $58.5 million in revenues for last month. This is 3% lower than the earnings the casino for the same month last year.

In a very respectable change of pace, the Trump Taj Mahal was the third best earner for April generating $48.5 million in casino revenues. This was a considerable jump to the positive as a 13.2% increase in its earning over the same month in April 2005.

The man in charge of Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s 4 casino resorts in the New Jersey gambling Mecca said that April was the first month in which the company's Total Rewards customer loyalty promo was in effect. This program is also now available at Bally's as it is one of Harrah�s 4 casinos in the city. It is believed that the customer loyalty program is directly responsible for the increase in revenues that made Bally�s come in first as the top earner for April 2006 in Atlantic City.

The casino commission, which controls Atlantic City's 12 casinos, stated this was the first time that the Borgata had a year over year decrease in its total monthly earnings ever. The Borgata was opened in July 2003 making waves as Atlantic City�s saving grace.

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