Despite Miss America’s return, Atlantic City saw casino revenue plunge last month

Thousands of people came to Atlantic City to see Miss America last month, but not enough of them ventured into a casino to boost the gambling halls’ monthly revenue.

Atlantic City’s casinos saw their revenue fall by nearly 13 percent in September compared with the same month last year.

The city’s 12 casinos won $240.2 million from gamblers, a decline of 12.9 percent from September 2012.

Table games revenue was $62.9 million, down nearly 19 percent from a year ago, and slots revenue was $177.3 million, down 10.6 percent from a year ago.

State regulators said the slot decline was partly due to gamblers betting nearly $4 million less in promotional credits last month.

The return of the Miss America pageant was seen as a catalyst for increased tourism in the resort; 20,593 people attended the four nights of competition at Boardwalk Hall. But those visitors did not translate into increased gambling revenue.

Eleven of the 12 casinos posted monthly declines. Only the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel showed an increase, up nearly 4 percent for the month to $12.3 million.

The biggest decline was at Caesars Atlantic City, down 28.5 percent to $23.8 million. Close behind was Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, down 28 percent to $6.4 million, and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, down 18.9 percent to $22.6 million….