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Tropicana Casino & Resort will complete a $25 million facelift this year and clean up the property again in 2007 to supplement its cash cow, The Quarter.
This year's improvements include refurbished hotel rooms in the North Tower, 800 new slot machines and new decorations on the South Casino floor, matching the mall-like quarter, a Cuban-themed retail and entertainment attraction.
Parent company Aztar Corp. announced Wednesday that Tropicana will refurbish its hotel rooms in the South Tower and refurbish the North Casino floor, including the main table gaming area.
Company officials said the improvement could continue the momentum created by The Quarter, a $280 million hotel, retail and restaurant complex that has boosted casino operations in Tropicana since its opening in November 2004.
The spin-off effect of the quarter helped boost Tropicana's casino revenue overall by 24% in the fourth quarter, including a 31% increase in slot wins.
Aztar reported on a conference call that total operating revenue, also known as cash flow, tripled in the quarter to $25.4 million.
Total sales at Aztar's casinos, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Loughlin, Nevada, Carothersville, Missouri, and Evansville, Indiana, rose 19% to $222.8 million. Net income for the quarter rose to $11.2 million, or 29 cents per share, from $2.3 million, or 5 cents per share, a year ago.
"All of our properties posted solid results during the fourth quarter, but we are particularly pleased with Tropicana Atlantic City's performance," said Robert M. Haddock, Aztar's chairman and chief executive officer.
Haddock noted that Tropicana got off to a strong start in 2006, which led to a 21% increase in slot sales in January. However, Tropicana's table game win is up slightly this month by 4%.
Reflecting the quarter's role as a driving force, Tropicana visitors jumped more than 50% in 2005. Gary Simpson, senior vice president of finance and development at Aztar, said sales rose by $100 million this year, up 27%. 슬롯머신사이트
Simpson added, however, that the quota has not yet met the overall fiscal targets set by Aztar and is expected to take three years to run on all cylinders.
"We continued to discuss a three-year increase period this œ, resulting in a full return