ATLANTIC CITY, NJ-While certainly not playing in the black, the rate of revenue decline at casinos here fell less than 4% in May, much better than the double-digit revenue losses sustained in the first four months of 2013.

"I've said for a while now that the biggest challenge of ours has been Sandy-related, and once we put Sandy in our rear-view mirror, we'll get a much better picture of where we are as a market," says Tony Rodio, president of the Tropicana Casino and Resort and head of the Casino Association of New Jersey.

May was by far the best month so far in 2013 for Atlantic City casinos. January saw a 13.7% decline in revenues, followed by drops of 12.5% in February, 10.5% in March and 12.1% in April, according to the Associated Press. For the first five months of the year, the casinos have taken in $1.138 billion, down 10.4% from the same period a year ago.

"I think it's a general stabilization of the market," Rodio says of May's figures. "If we can keep the low-percentage declines and get close to even as we enter the crucial summer months, that would be a positive indicator." See story in The Inquirer.