New Jersey Poker Revenue Down for 12.8% in August
Had it not been for the sports betting and re-openings in the Garden State, the gaming market would have been downward flat last month.
The online poker market revenue was down 12.8% year-over-year despite the shared poker liquidity with Nevada and Delaware but New Jersey hopes the upcoming PokerStars New Jersey Poker Championship (NJCOOP) will heal some wounds.
New Jersey Division of Gaming released state figures last week and six poker rooms in Atlantic City raked $2.23 million in August. The three internet poker operators generated $1.81 million which is, compared to the August 2017 and $2.08 million, down for 12.8%. The online poker market was $14.8, down 11.2% comparing to the same period last year when it was $16.67 million.
Caesars (WSOP) raked online poker revenue $725,000, Resorts (PokerStars NJ) $650,000 while Borgata raked $ $439,817. Caesars has an 18.8% revenue increase compared to the same period last year but considering the shared liquidity pool, they should have done better. PokerStars NJ is hosting the NJCOOP starting 29 September until 15 October with at least $1.5 million guaranteed over 47 events so they are looking forward to changing the current situation and the comeback of online poker.
But despite the poker’s downfall, the overall revenue for all casino games reached $25 million in August which is 16.6% rise compared to August 2017.
Golden Nugget brought in almost the third of the amount, $8.17 million. The second in line is Borgata, an MGM Resorts’ property with $4.65 million in the internet gambling revenue, followed by Resorts World with $4.02 million, Tropicana with $3.59 million and Caesars with $3.48 million.
Two Atlantic City Casinos Revel and Trump Taj Mahal reopened under new brands Ocean and Hard Rock in July and entered this competitive and established market.
Sports betting brought in $303.9 million in August which is 24%r rise comparing to the $244.8 million in August 2017. Total gambling winnings for the industry rose to $1.86 billion, a 3,5% rise compared to the same period last year so online poker’s slide was only a small wave in the sea.
With NJCOOP on the horizon, the following weeks are a great opportunity for poker to make some amends.