As a judge was approving Revel’s plan to emerge from Chapter 11, here’s what one Revel exec had to say about the casino’s plans to reverse its colossal fail …

“Very shortly we will be converting the casino to smoking, which will increase revenue dramatically,” so says Chief Restructuring Officer Dennis Stogsdill.

Oh, we see, that’s all it’s going to take. Just have the pit bosses announce, “OK, if ya got ‘em, smoke ‘em,” and the folks will line up to feed Revel’s mostly empty slot machines.

We’re not sure what the bottom line translation is for “increase revenue dramatically,” as Stogsdill characterized the effect of lifting the casino’s no-smoking ban, but we wonder if it will be enough to, say, even move Revel to the middle of the pack in casino revenue among Atlantic City’s 12 casinos

New Jersey’s gaming revenues from its 12 casinos totaled $3.05 billion last year, 8 percent less than in 2011. It was the biggest decline among all of the states. Increasing competition from nearby states was serving as the obvious cooler to New Jersey’s once-dominant position in the mid-Atlantic.

But Maryland’s three casinos grew by 142.6 percent, the second highest jump over that same period. That was driven mainly by one casino, Maryland Live!, about 15 miles south of Baltimore.

And, most damaging for New Jersey: Pennsylvania’s 2012 gambling revenue increased 4.6 percent from 2011 to $3.16 billion.

Hurricane Sandy certainly didn’t help either, as many casinos were closed for days due to the crippling storm and tourists didn’t return in droves to the damaged coast.

Despite the decline in revenues, however, New Jersey casinos provided 34,726 jobs, a 5.8 percent increase. Pennsylvania’s 11 casinos employed 10,162, a 2.7 percent increase.

Las Vegas was the top casino market with $6.2 billion in revenue; Atlantic City was second with $3.05 billion. Philadelphia ranked sixth with $1.16 billion. But the city of brotherly love clearly has a love for racinos: it ranked as the number one racetrack casino market with $835 million in revenue.

Nationally, the survey found that the U.S. commercial casino industry grew for the third straight year in 2012, which was the second highest year for gaming revenues. The $37.34 billion last year in total consumer spending on gambling at commercial casinos was up nearly 5 percent from 2011 and was less than only 2007, the last year before the recession, the survey found.

The tax coffers of the states also benefitted. Gaming tax contributions rose 8.5 percent to $8.6 billion in 2012. “The jobs created by the gaming industry continue to provide vital employment opportunities for more than 332,000 people — a slight 0.9 percent decline from 2011 totals — who earned $13.2 billion in wages, benefits and tips during 2012,” the survey stated.

“Most, but not all, gaming markets across the country are experiencing improved economic conditions,
as 15 of the 22 states that had commercial casinos operating during 2011 saw their gross gaming revenues increase during 2012,” the report states. “The largest increases — in Kansas (+603.7 percent), Maryland (+142.6 percent), Maine (+66.9 percent) and New York (+43.1 percent) — were driven by the opening of new casinos or casinos that had their first full year of operations. Also of note, Ohio’s first four casinos opened during 2012, making it the nation’s 23rd commercial casino state and adding more than $400 million to the national revenue total.”

To read the full report click here.

The expansion plan is spelled out in this document on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s website. The board is expected to vote this month on the plans.

The document states that Sugarhouse would complete the expansion in two years. The plan calls for constructing a seven-story, 1,500-space parking garage, adding a second floor on the main building to house meeting space, and extending the waterfront promenade north and south along the Delaware River.

Until now.

Clinkscales, of Las Vegas, put that ugly streak to an end this week by taking the top spot in the WSOPC Main Event at Harrah’s Philadelphia. In addition to winning his first ring, Clinkscales pocketed $121,095 and a seat in the WSOP National Championship.

“This is unbelievable,” Clinkscales said after his win. “Every final table, I’ve run so bad. I’m glad that I don’t have to hear it anymore from people about not having a ring.”

Clinkscales will have a chance at another big score when the WSOP National Championship begins May 22 at Harrah’s New Orleans. With a guaranteed prize pool of $1 million, the National Championship is a free roll featuring the top 100 qualifiers from the 2012-13 WSOP Circuit season.

Gemini, who has prefomed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, is known for his magic tricks, ventriloquism and comedy sketches. Jeff Norris has been featured on popular shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “Law & Order” and the last season of “Boardwalk Empire.”

After the 8 p.m. show, there will be a meet-and-greet session with the comedians on the casino floor. Tickets for the show are $25 and can be purchased at https://www.vfcasino.com/headline-entertainment.

Here’s a bit of Gemini.

On May 11-12, mothers get to climb the lighthouse for free and Moms who show their “I Climbed” card at nearby Tony Boloney’s Pizza afterward will receive a free slice of pizza.

Lighthouse hours are 11a.m.-4 p.m. with the last climb at 3:30 p.m. Parking on site is free and dogs are welcome on leashes. The Absecon Lighthouse started beaming in 1857. It’s New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse and the third tallest in the United States.

Last month’s gross table games revenue was $67.3 million or $5.5 million higher than in March 2012 when revenue totaled $62 million. That revenue total last March had been the highest to date since table games were introduced at Pennsylvania casinos in July 2010.

With an average of 1,041 tables in operation everyday across the state, tax revenue produced in March was $9,711,678.

The session has been scheduled for May 9 from 9 a.m. to noon. The first date is scheduled for May 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“The additional session has been added because all of the available spots for that first day of hearings have been filled,” the press release stated. “The hearings at the stadium will be held on both days in the Red Zone Lounge.”

The Atlantic Club’s gaming wins in March were about $13 million, an increase of 33 percent over March 2012, the newspaper reported.

“The Atlantic Club’s use of promotional gambling credits also sets it apart from others,” the Press reported. “While every Atlantic City property reduced or kept relatively flat the number of promotional gambling credits — free play vouchers — it gave patrons in March, the Atlantic Club increased them by $1 million. In March, the casino issued about $3 million in promotional gambling credits, or 51 percent more year over year.”

Here’s the official press release from the state:
Trenton – To ensure the future performance of the New Jersey Lottery exceeds its past record of providing essential support to State institutions and education programs, the Department of the Treasury’s Division of Purchase and Property has issued a Notice of Intent to award a 15- year contract to Northstar New Jersey Lottery Group to provide the Lottery with services to support its marketing and sales operations.
As part of the contract terms which guarantee the State a minimum amount of income, Northstar NJ will provide an accelerated payment of $120 million to the State upon the final award and execution of the contract. It has also committed to generating at least $1.42 billion of total additional net income for the State from Lottery operations over the life of the contract with a potential actual increase in net income of $6.88 billion. The $1.42 billion mark is above and beyond what the State could expect to see if Lottery operations remain unchanged.
Northstar NJ is a joint venture consisting of GTECH Corporation of Providence, Rhode Island, Scientific Games International of Alpharetta, Georgia, and OSI LTT NJ Holdings, a unit of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). GTECH and Scientific Games are two of the world’s leading companies in lottery management and OMERS is one of the largest pension funds in Canada.

Go in depth by reading other coverage:
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Matt Katz’s wrote this article on the subject.
And NJ.com had this to say on the proposal.