Atlantic City casinos generate more revenue, but profits fall
Atlantic City casino profits fell sharply in the second quarter of 2026 despite the industry generating higher revenue, with several properties reporting substantial declines in profitability.
Gross operating profit across the industry fell 10.1% year-on-year to $164.9 million, even as net revenue edged 0.9% higher to $844.5 million, according to figures filed with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Resorts recorded the steepest decline among Atlantic City’s casino hotels. Its second-quarter operating profit collapsed 95.2% from $9.9 million to just $473,000, while net revenue dropped 20.3% to $39.6 million.
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Golden Nugget also suffered a significant decline, with operating profit falling 43% to $2.9 million as revenue dropped 6% to $36.3 million.
The squeeze on profitability was even more pronounced across the first half of 2026. Industry gross operating profit fell 15.5% to $269.6 million despite net revenue remaining broadly stable at $1.57 billion, up 0.2% from the corresponding period in 2025.
Borgata remained Atlantic City’s largest casino by second-quarter net revenue, generating $218.4 million, up 3.6%. However, its operating profit declined 4.7% to $60.1 million.
Hard Rock reported a 0.9% decline in quarterly revenue to $148.4 million, while operating profit dropped 10.5% to $29.1 million.
Ocean Casino was one of the industry’s strongest performers during the quarter. Net revenue increased 9.2% to $142 million and operating profit climbed 12.2% to $30.1 million.
Caesars also bucked the broader profit decline, reporting a 7.7% increase in net revenue to $68.1 million and a 2.9% rise in operating profit to $13 million.
Hotel figures provided another positive indicator for the market. Casino hotel occupancy reached 73.2% during the second quarter, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the corresponding period last year.
For the first six months of 2026, occupancy increased 1.2 percentage points to 69%.
The DGE defines gross operating profit as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation, affiliate charges and certain other items, and regards it as a widely used measure of profitability within the Atlantic City casino industry.
The regulator also cautioned that comparisons involving online casino gaming and sports betting need to account for differences in how individual licensees recognise revenue and expenses from those operations.
