Apparently when the chips are down, people start gambling. Consumers may be clutching tighter to their purse strings these days, but neither the rumblings of a recession nor the recent smoking ban have kept gamblers from spending in Atlantic City.

After casino profits plummeted throughout 2007, causing New Jersey’s gaming revenues to register the first year-over-year decline in Atlantic City’s history (widely attributed to the introduction of slots in Pennsylvania), Memorial Day gave Jersey Shore casinos a much needed boost.

In May, the state’s gaming revenue increased 1.61 percent to $415.348 million, according to Fantini’s June Gaming Report published today (for subscribers), after dropping steadily since January.  read more »