Return of Miss America Pageant to Atlantic City Doesn’t Boost Revenue: Costs $400k

Atlantic City, NJ – (Associated Press) - The return of the Miss America pageant to Atlantic City brought attention to the seaside gambling mecca and a boon to police and public works employees.

The Press of Atlantic City reports the pageant cost the city about $400,000 in overtime. The city’s business administrator tells the newspaper that some of the costs will be reimbursed, possibly by the state. But it isn’t known how much, or when.

The majority of the overtime went to police. The newspaper reports full-time police officers logged about 3,000 hours of overtime, at an average rate of about $78 per hour.

The pageant returned to Atlantic City after a six-year stint in Las Vegas.

The impact on gambling revenue appears minimal. Revenues fell at all but one casino last month compared to 2012.