As summer shifts into high gear, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City celebrated its seventh anniversary on June 28 by building on its longstanding philanthropic commitment to the local community.
At a luncheon on June 26, Hard Rock presented $7,000 donations to seven organizations that benefit Atlantic City’s most underserved communities. Recipients included Jewish Family Services, Covenant House, The Arc of Atlantic County, Veteran’s Haven South, AC Pride, Diabetes Training Camp Foundation, and Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation.
Earlier that morning, Hard Rock Atlantic City team members gathered to pack 777 birthday-themed food boxes alongside lookalikes of the world’s most famous musicians for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, a longtime community partner that uses the boxes to help food-insecure children celebrate birthdays throughout the year. Hard Rock Atlantic City has continuously supported causes within its community since its 2018 opening, donating millions to more than 500 organizations in Atlantic City and the surrounding Atlantic County area.
Next up on Hard Rock’s philanthropic agenda: the Out of the Darkness Walk benefiting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), which the resort will host on September 6 for the sixth consecutive year. Thanks to Hard Rock’s fundraising efforts, the Atlantic-Cape walk has become the organization’s largest in New Jersey. In 2024, under the leadership of Hard Rock Atlantic City General Manager Michael Sampson, The Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ) participated in the walk, showcasing employee participation from Atlantic City’s nine casino properties and helping to raise more than $280,000 for the AFSP. This year, the Atlantic-Cape walk will exceed more than $1 million raised for the cause since 2017.
“We are so proud and grateful for our community partners and for their incredible commitment to support the AFSP New Jersey Chapter,” said Sampson, an AFSP NJ Chapter board member, in a press release. “These efforts make a difference in the lives of so many, and support AFSP’s mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those who are struggling with mental health issues.”
On the operations front, Hard Rock Atlantic City’s impressive momentum continues. While Atlantic City’s casino properties’ collective gross operating profit (a widely accepted measure of profitability in the gaming industry) fell 9.2% to $709 million in 2024, Hard Rock and Caesars were the only two of the city’s nine casino properties to grow this number, by 7.9% and 10.7%, respectively. Hard Rock’s occupancy rate also topped the list in 2024, at 86.7%. On the back of its record-breaking results last year, Hard Rock Atlantic City awarded $10 million in bonuses in February to both union and non-union team members.
For the first quarter of 2025, Atlantic City casinos reported gross operating profit of $132 million, a 15% decrease versus the same period last year. Hard Rock Atlantic City was again one of just two properties to increase this figure through March, rising 2.9% to $27 million.
Hard Rock’s emergence as Atlantic City’s go-t0 entertainment destination owes in part to the 5,500-seat Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, the largest performance venue of any casino in town and the jewel in the crown of the 17-acre property, which presides over a prime swath of the city’s iconic boardwalk. Jackson Browne and Counting Crows performed to packed houses in the uniquely intimate setting the past two weekends, while upcoming shows this summer include Darius Rucker (July 12), Chicago (July 26-27), and the Steve Miller Band (August 22).
Besides a gaming floor packed with 2,425 slots and 130 gaming tables, the resort is home to more than 15 food and beverage outlets–including fine dining at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood, Kuro, and Il Mulino–and the sprawling Rock Spa & Salon, offering a wide array of music-inspired services and 31 newly designed treatment rooms. For more information on upcoming shows and to book, visit the resort website.