Data from the state treasury department and NJ Casino Control Commission for 2012-2015 show that revenue from luxury tax and casino parking dropped after the Miss America Pageant returned to Atlantic City in 2013 and continued to decline through 2014 and 2015, according to a Bloomberg data analysis.

That brings into question whether the state is getting its money's worth by subsidizing the event; in February, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority ponied up $12.5M to support the pageant for the next three years. An economic impact study ahead of the event's return to Atlantic City in 2013 asserted it would bring in $32M in tourism dollars, but no followup was done to quantify the actual economic impact, NJ.com reports. 

Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, who will be a speaker at our South Jersey event, told Bloomberg the pageant is not worth the price tag. [NJ]