大西洋城的赌场业自经济衰退以来一直在苦苦挣扎，这在博彩业内早已不是秘密，然而，如此衰落对那些曾经预言2011年底赌场业会反弹的人来说还是很意外的。

　　2011年，大西洋城赌场业收入较2001年下降7.4%，降至4.94亿美元，赌场业收入自2008年经济衰退以来一直逐年下降。在美国东北部的竞争中，以前的东海岸博彩之都前景日益暗淡。

　　“上周公布的这个数字只是强调了多年以来人们的论调”博彩业分析师Brad Dawkins说“经济衰退使大西洋城招揽赌客困难重重，而且宾夕法尼亚和其他州博彩业的扩张也使处于经济衰退中的赌客回归大西洋城难上加难，那个让人沮丧的时间有可能提前”

　　2011年，大西洋城收入从去年的5.346亿美元下降到4.949依美元，被宾夕法尼亚所超越，使新泽西在全美博彩业的排名落至第三，随着宾夕法尼亚去年允许赌台运营，东北地区博彩行业的新时期显然已经开始了。

　　“宾夕法尼亚进入博彩行业并兴建了时尚先进和富有吸引力的赌场，同时，马里兰、缅因的新赌场将兴建，马萨诸塞和纽约州的博彩业不断扩张和发展，新泽西陈旧的赌场设施已经失去竞争力，狂欢赌场也许是唯一的希望了”

　　狂欢赌场是在经济衰退之前启动的项目，在金融危机期间被搁置了，去年才重新启动，这间十亿美元投资建设的赌场是把赌客吸引会大西洋城的唯一希望了。

　　过去几年里，曾经满负荷运营的赌场酒店面临的一个首要问题就是如何保证住房率，2011年，酒店的住房率大约在80%，这与经济衰退之前95%的住房率形成鲜明对比。

　　Atlantic City Casino Revenue Falls Almost Ten Percent In 2011

　　It is no secret in the gaming industry that the Atlantic City casino industry has been struggling since the economic recession. The depths, however, to which the casinos have fallen is surprising to some who predicted that the casinos would have started to see a rebound by late 2011.

　　For the year, casino revenue was down 7.4% in 2001, to $494 million. That figure has dropped in every year since the recession in 2008, and with competition growing among Northeastern states, the prospects of a rebound now seem dim for the one-time gaming capital of the East Coast.

　　"These figures that were released this past week just emphasize what people have been saying for several years," said Gaming Analyst Brad Dawkins. "The recession made it difficult to bring customers into AC casinos, and Pennsylvania and other states are making it impossible for AC casinos to get back to where they were during the recession. Tough times could be ahead."

　　In 2011, the profit of $494.9 million was down from the $534.6 million the previous year. The industry also was surpassed in 2011 by Pennsylvania, making New Jersey the third largest gaming market in the US. When Pennsylvania added table games last year, it became apparent to many that there was a new era in gaming across the Northeast.

　　"Pennsylvania came in and built new casinos that were trendy and attractive," said Dawkins. "The new casinos being built in Maryland, Maine, and now Massachusetts and New York are making it hard for the older facilities in New Jersey to compete. Revel may be the only hope for these casinos."

　　Revel is a project that was started before the recession, and then halted when the financial market dried up. The project restarted last year, and the new billion dollar casino resort will open with the expectation that it will attract gamblers back to Atlantic City.

　　One of the first orders of business over the past few years has been to fill the rooms in the hotels that were once packed to capacity. In 2011, the rooms maintained a booked capacity of around 80%. That is in stark contrast to the 95% occupancy rate the casino resorts operated at before the recession.