It’s not exactly a scientific ranking, but Atlantic City will take it.
Yahoo.com’s Lifestyle section recently listed the “10 Best Casinos in the U.S. If You Love To Gamble,” and both Borgata and Hard Rock were among the cream of the crop. The site noted that Borgata, ranked fourth in the U.S. in this review, features more than 3,500 slot machines.
“Borgata is an especially popular casino among those who prefer to gamble via poker,” the review read. “The gambling floor features an impressive poker room with 80+ tables and daily tournaments for players across a spectrum of buy-ins.”
Checking in at No. 5 is Hard Rock, of which the site wrote, “Formerly the Trump Taj Mahal, the hotel has pumped over $500 million into renovations since 2018 in order to completely rebrand itself. If that isn’t enough to get you through the doors, maybe the fact that the Hard Rock is one of the biggest casinos in the world will sway you. At over 120,000 square feet, it practically feels like its own city. Plus, the Hard Rock name draws in A+ acts at its Etess Arena, including Carrie Underwood, Phish, and Alicia Keys.”
Reality check on AC’s top two
How do those rankings square up with actual visitation?
In the first seven months of 2022, Borgata leads the way with $412.1 million in revenue, per the state Division of Gaming Enforcement — more than 25% of the entire industry total for the city. And the runner-up indeed is Hard Rock, at $291 million.
The top-grossing casino not on the list is Ocean, a distant third at $200.9 million. Ocean, like Hard Rock, opened in mid-2018, with its predecessor being the infamous $2.4 billion Revel casino (born 2012, died 2014).
Resorts is Atlantic City’s oldest casino, opening its doors in 1978, and the “place that felt like home” for Hoboken native Frank Sinatra, who performed countless concerts at the Boardwalk casino. But Resorts in 2022 so far ranks a mere seventh in revenue at $95.5 million, in part because it has the fewest hotel rooms among the nine casinos in town.
Top 5 roundup
Atlantic City casino-goers looking for road trip destinations are encouraged by Yahoo to try the top-ranked Bellagio in Las Vegas.
“The interior and exterior design are inspired by Lake Como — a town in Bellagio, Italy — which will make you feel like you’ve entered another world,” the site boasts. “Along with gambling, the resort features high-end shopping, fine dining, rotating art displays, an epic pool, and live shows.”
The runner-up, Aria, also is located in Las Vegas, and “boasts roughly 50,000 square feet of gaming space, including 2,000 slots, plenty of video poker, and multi-game machines,” according to Yahoo, which added that “the casino also does a great job of introducing new games regularly so that things feel fresh every time you visit.”
But then the list throws a series of curveballs, starting with No. 3 Atlantis in Reno, Nevada, where “you’ll have plenty to do with over 1,400 machines — including 700 penny slot machines — and 39 table games.”
Venturing far and wide
No. 6 is Gila River Resorts & Casinos at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona, followed by another Arizona property — Talking Stick Resort & Casino in Scottsdale.
No. 8 is no doubt familiar to most gamblers in the Northeast — Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Connecticut, described as “wildly huge” with 340,000 square feet of gaming space.
“You can enjoy nearly 400 gaming tables, 6,000+ slot machines, and a massive bingo hall (yes, bingo!) where over 5,000 people can play at once.”
Checking in at No. 9 is a sleeper, perhaps: WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. And rounding out the list at No. 10 is Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport, Mississippi.
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