Could Caesar's Close All Four Atlantic City Casnos?

Could it be possible that the largest land based casino operator in Atlantic City could be closing the doors of all four of its properties? It's no secret that casinos in the state of New Jersey have been struggling for a number of years now and when CEO Gary Loveman was questioned regarding Q1 losses this year and asked about the Atlantic City properties he said that, "We are looking at all of our options to reduce the cost of doing business here, all the businesses in A.C. are under tremendous pressure."

At present Caesar's in $23 Billion in debt and weak consumer spending means that revenues have been hit hard and only a few months ago they made the decision to close a casino in Tunica. In Atlantic City they own the four casinos of Bally's, The Showboat, Caesar's and Harrah's and Loveman added that, "These markets can reach points when no new supply is indeed the right answer, in some cases reducing the supply is the right answer." The companies first quarter loss in 2014 was reported as $386.4 Million, a loss that is substantially larger than the 2013 figure which stood at $217.6 Million with sales falling 1.9% for the same period, signalling worrying times for the largest US casino owner. Shares are down 1.7% this year however have gained a little recently due to the announcement of debt refinancing measures. Tough times ahead for Caesar's and it will be a big loss to Atlantic City should this company close the doors of its New Jersey land based operations.

Online gaming in the state of New Jersey is ticking along, with recent reports stating that a lack of consumer awareness was to blame for the slow start and revenues from the venture have not met tax revenue expectations. There are also depositing issues being seen with many online casino games players not being able to deposit by credit card due to bank restrictions in place. Many players in New Jersey are of course still playing their online casino games at the offshore casinos and poker rooms that welcome them, with Bovada being one of the largest of those.