ATLANTIC CITY REVENUES DOWN AGAIN (Update)

10 April 2009

Record decrease for second month running

 

According to a Turkish Press report the bidding for the Turkish lottery privatisation contract is now less competitive following the withdrawal of local group Dogan Holding and its Italian partner Lottomatica. Both companies had already met the government's preliminary requirements for bidders.

Dogan advised the stock exchange that it's withdrawal was due to adverse market conditions, but little more is known beyond that.

In a separate statement, Lottomatica, one of the world's largest commercial lottery operators and a market leader in the Italian gaming industry, announced that it has exited the Turkish process and that it had terminated the memorandum of understanding signed earlier with Dogan Holding to participate in the tender.

The much delayed privatisation process for Turkey's state-owned national lottery is expected to begin in August after enactment of a bill on financial control.

Along with several foreign companies, Koc Group, Cukurova Group and Is Yatirim are among the Turkish companies competing in the tender process for management of the lottery, which generates an annual turnover of US$ 683 million and US$ 189 million in net profits.       Atlantic City casinos revenues dropped by a record margin for the second straight month in March, officials told the Reuters news agency Thursday, as the recession and competition from other states cut gamblers' spending.

Combined revenue from the 11 casinos in New Jersey's gaming capital dropped 19.4 percent to $318.4 million in March 2009, compared with a year earlier, according to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

The latest decline, the sharpest in the city's 30-year gambling history, exceeds the previous record 19.2 percent drop in February 2009. Slot-machine takings slumped by 21.3 percent to $218.1 million, while table revenues decreased by 14.7 percent to $100.3 million.

The slump in revenues has helped drive three Atlantic City casinos - those owned by Trump Entertainment - into bankruptcy, while plans for several major new casinos have been scrapped amid the downturn, reports Reuters by way of background. All but one of the casinos reported annual revenue declines in March.

The steepest fall was seen by the Atlantic City Hilton, down 34.8 percent; the only gain was seen at the Trump Taj Mahal where takings were up 6.3 percent.

For the first three months of 2009, overall revenue declined 16.2 percent to $950.2 million. Six casinos reported revenue declines of more than 20 percent for the year so far. The highest revenue for March was seen in 2007 when the city recorded a total $438.3 million, the commission said.      

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