Report: Harrah's Atlantic City Poker Room to Reopen Dec. 26

Poker players in Atlantic City received an early holiday present this week.

Harrah's Resort Atlantic City will reopen its World Series of Poker-branded room on Dec. 26, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

Harrah’s will be the second casino in New Jersey to reopen its poker room since the state’s lockdown early in the coronavirus pandemic. Atlantic City’s largest poker room at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa was the first to reopen on Oct. 21.

“Harrah’s Resort is thrilled to re-open our World Series of Poker room just in time for the new year, which will serve as the destination for poker in Atlantic City at our Caesars Entertainment resorts,” Ron Baumann, senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's and Caesars Atlantic City told The Press website on Monday. “We’ve spent the last several months ensuring we had enhanced health and safety measures in place, so both our players and team members can feel confident when they play at Harrah’s, while allowing us to take an important step forward in responsibly returning more of our table games product to the market.”

Eight players per table will be allowed, along with dividers to separate each player as the room will be opened daily from noon to 4 a.m., according to The Press. All COVID-19 protocols will be followed, as masks must be worn by anyone inside the city’s nine casinos.

Harrah’s offers Texas Hold’em with $1, $2 and $2/$5 no-limit games being the most popular.Structured games are available at all limits. Seven Card Stud is also offered, usually in a $1 to $5 open betting structure and $5/$10 and higher structure games.

Bally’s, Golden Nugget and Tropicana round out the poker rooms in Atlantic City. No announcement has been made for their re-opening dates. Online poker is legal in New Jersey.

New Jersey Casino Revenue Report

Atlantic City casinos have remained open despite the nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. Pennsylvania recently closed its casinos until Jan. 4.

On Monday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) reported that the city’s nine casinos generated combined on-site slots and table game revenue of close to $146.6 million in November, a 21.2% decrease from October. On-site table games alone fell to $44.7 million.

Total gaming revenue for November was $288.9 million compared to $306 million in November 2019, a 5.6% decrease. Internet gaming win was $91.8 million in November compared to $49.1 million in the prior period, ran increase of 86.9%, according to the report.

The total sports wagering handle in New Jersey set a new monthly record with more than $931.6 million in bets placed.