ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City's casino industry is generating enormous amounts of gambling revenue, hotel rooms are filling at a slightly higher rate and all nine casino hotels remain profitable.
But beneath those encouraging numbers is a trend that has increasingly caught the attention of casino analysts and political leaders across the region:
The casinos are making less money from operating their businesses.
Atlantic City Councilman Jesse Kurtz became the latest local official to raise concerns about the industry's underlying financial health during an appearance on Off The Press with Scott Cronick on WOND.
“It's not just our households where costs are going up,” Kurtz said. “These companies, their costs are going up as well. So even with the enhanced revenues, it's not materializing in a profit.”
The latest financial reports from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show why the issue is getting attention.
During the first six months of 2026, total casino-industry net revenue reached $1.57 billion, up 0.2% from the same period last year. Yet gross operating profit fell 15.5% to $269.6 million.
Looking specifically at Atlantic City's nine casino hotels, first-half gross operating profit was approximately $265.3 million, down 14.9% from a year earlier.
The trend continued during the second quarter, when the nine casinos' combined operating profit fell 9.3%.
In other words, Atlantic City's casinos are generating plenty of revenue — but increasingly struggling to turn that revenue into the same level of profit.
‘Revenue Doesn't Always Translate to Profitability’
The concern isn't limited to Kurtz.
Brian Tyrrell, faculty director of Stockton University's Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism, reached a similar conclusion after reviewing the latest DGE numbers.
Tyrrell said the results illustrate that casino revenue does not necessarily translate into profitability.
He pointed to inflationary pressure from labor, energy and the cost of goods, along with a substantially higher tax burden on internet gaming and online sports wagering.
New Jersey increased its internet gaming tax from 15% to 19.75% and its online sports wagering tax from 13% to 19.75%. Tyrrell estimated those increases have contributed at least $120 million in additional expenses for operators.
The cost of attracting customers is another factor. Casino complimentary rooms, meals, entertainment, promotional gaming credits and other incentives can help drive visitation and revenue while simultaneously adding expenses.
The result is an Atlantic City casino industry that can look remarkably healthy when judged by the top-line revenue numbers while appearing considerably more complicated farther down the income statement.
Marino: Look at Where the Profits Are
Casino analyst Anthony Marino has been warning South Jersey NewsBeat readers that the industrywide totals obscure another important development: Atlantic City's remaining casino profits are increasingly concentrated among a small number of properties.
After reviewing the first-half financial reports, Marino divided the city's nine casinos into three tiers.
Borgata, Hard Rock and Ocean Casino Resort generated approximately $198 million — more than 73% — of the combined first-half operating profit of Atlantic City's nine casino hotels, according to Marino's analysis.
“The three biggies, the three leaders in the local industry,” Marino called them during an August appearance on The Don Williams Show on WOND.
At the other end were Bally's, Golden Nugget and Resorts, which Marino calculated generated only about $3.8 million combined, or roughly 1.4% of the nine casinos' first-half operating profit.
“When you look at the numbers that way, you see there is a large disparity when it comes to profits in those three tiers,” Marino said.
Marino cautioned against concluding that any of those properties is headed for closure.
“Our three smallest casinos look like they're struggling, and relative to the three largest casinos, certainly that seems to be the case,” Marino said. “But each of them, in their own way, are generating profits, and as long as they continue to do that, they'll stay in business.”
That distinction is important.
There is currently no evidence that any Atlantic City casino is preparing to close.
But the enormous difference in profitability among the properties helps explain why officials such as Kurtz are paying attention.
Kurtz Remembers What Happened Last Time
For Kurtz, the concern isn't theoretical.
Atlantic City endured an unprecedented wave of casino closings in 2014, when Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza all shut down. Trump Taj Mahal followed in 2016.
Kurtz told Cronick he remembers the economic consequences.
“I still recall between council and then working at the community college back when we had multiple casinos closed,” Kurtz said.
He described it as an enormous unemployment event that required extensive efforts to retrain displaced employees and help them find new jobs.
“I certainly don't want to relive those days,” Kurtz said. “It was a very tough and challenging time.”
A casino closing today would have consequences extending well beyond the gaming floor.
Casino employees live throughout Atlantic County, while restaurants, construction companies, food suppliers and scores of other businesses depend directly or indirectly on the industry.
A recent Atlantic County Economic Alliance study estimated that 5,105 Atlantic County jobs could be exposed by 2035 under its baseline scenario involving continued online-gaming substitution and New York competition. A more severe scenario that also assumes casinos opening in North Jersey puts as many as 8,005 jobs in potential exposure.
The study specifically cautions that those figures are scenarios — not predictions that all those jobs will disappear.
Polistina: ‘Fearful for Some of the Properties’
State Sen. Vince Polistina has also been sounding alarms.
In recent WOND interviews previously reported by South Jersey NewsBeat, Polistina pointed to inflation, labor costs, online gambling, prediction markets and coming competition from New York.
“Some challenging times there,” Polistina said. “I really am fearful for some of the properties.”
Polistina has argued that protecting Atlantic City's nine existing casinos should be a priority because their economic impact extends throughout South Jersey.
“We got to do everything we can to support the nine casinos we have there and all of the jobs and all the ancillary things,” Polistina said.
His concerns come as Atlantic City prepares for another significant wave of regional competition from New York.
The Online Gambling Paradox
Perhaps the biggest reason Atlantic City's headline gaming numbers can be misleading is the explosive growth of online gambling.
New Jersey internet casino gaming generated $2.91 billion in 2025, surpassing Atlantic City's $2.89 billion in brick-and-mortar casino revenue for the first time.
But an online bet placed from a couch doesn't create the same local economic activity as a visitor walking through a casino door.
The Atlantic County Economic Alliance study estimated that shifting $1 million in gaming spending from a physical Atlantic City casino to online gaming supports 30.6% fewer direct and supplier jobs in Atlantic County.
Marino put the distinction more simply.
“It's the nine brick-and-mortar operations that employ the majority of people in this area,” he said.
When someone gambles remotely rather than visiting Atlantic City, the resort can also lose spending on restaurants, hotel rooms, entertainment, parking and other activities.
“Everybody can gamble if they want, and they can do it digitally without going anywhere near a casino now,” Marino said.
That helps explain one of the apparent contradictions surrounding Atlantic City in 2026: New Jersey can report enormous gambling-revenue totals while the physical casino industry's employment and profitability remain under pressure.
No One Is Predicting Another 2014 — But the Warning Signs Are Different
There are also reasons not to overstate the danger.
All nine Atlantic City casinos were profitable during the second quarter.
Hotel occupancy during the first six months increased to 69%, up 1.2 percentage points from the same period last year.
And the DGE's financial reports show an industry still generating hundreds of millions of dollars in operating profit.
Kurtz also sees reasons for optimism.
He said Atlantic City remains attractive to casino operators that don't currently have a presence in the market and pointed to Ocean Casino Resort as an example of a property that ultimately succeeded under new ownership.
“I do think that in a general sense there are other casino operators who would like to crack into Atlantic City,” Kurtz said.
But the latest financial reports demonstrate why simply looking at record or near-record gambling revenue doesn't tell the entire story.
Revenue is rising.
Online gambling is booming.
Visitors are still coming.
Yet operating profits are falling, casino employment remains far below its historical peak, and nearly three-quarters of the nine casinos' first-half operating profit is concentrated in just three properties.
For a region that remembers what happened when five casinos disappeared in little more than two years, those numbers are getting harder to ignore.
About the Author
Peter Killeen
A 25-year radio news veteran, Peter covers South Jersey for NewsTalk 1400 & 92.3 WOND radio. Known for his concise and impactful delivery, he ensures listeners and readers stay informed without unnecessary filler.
